Countering Fate
by Little Minamino
Summary: Hiyono has been kidnapped. With only a handful of clues to go on, will Ayumu be able to piece the puzzle together in time to save her? Or will she be lost to him forever? AyuHiyo EyesRio KouRyo KiyoMado My first mystery story.
1. Chapter 1

Countering Fate

* * *

Chapter One

Hiyono's eyes shot open. It was still pretty dark outside so she was sure it was somewhere around midnight, but for some reason she was wide awake. What woke her up? Surely her body couldn't be feeling rested. She only got to bed at ten thirty.

A creek from her hallway caused the honey haired girl to huddle deeper into her covers. Now she knew why she was awake. That sound. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as the sound of foot steps grew steadily closer to her room. Hiyono's breath came in sharp, shallow gasps that she tried to quiet as she carefully reached out of her bed to grasp the phone she kept on her night stand.

After pulling it under her comforter she stifled the speaker with her hand and quickly turned down the volume so that none of the beeps or other sounds would break the silence and alert the intruder that she was awake. Once it was silent Hiyono quickly scrolled down the list of contacts until she found the one she was looking for. Her finger trembled as it hovered over the send button.

Maybe she was just being paranoid and it was just the sound of the foundation settling.

The sound of footsteps ended outside of her door and the handle began to turn.

Hiyono unconsciously let out a sharp gasp and her finger slammed hard onto the send button.

'Please Ayumu.' She thought. 'Please, please, answer.'

Just then the door swung open. Hiyono took one look at the intruder and did the only thing she could think of. She screamed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The shrill sound of his phone jerked Ayumu from his sleep. He groaned and rolled to his side, blindly reaching out to grab the offending object. In his half asleep state Ayumu could only manage one coherent thought.

'If it's not that girl I'm throwing it across the room.'

He looked at the id and groaned again.

"Maybe I should throw it anyway…"

Of course he didn't.

"What?" Ayumu said as he flipped the phone open.

The only answer he received was a sharp scream.

Ayumu's eyes went wide and he shot up throwing his covers aside.

"Hey! Hey what's going on? Answer me you idiot! What's wrong?" Sweat broke out along his forehead at the sound of a struggle and then her voice cried out, distant and terrified.

"Ayumu! Help me!"

"Hiyono!"

Silence. Ayumu's heart pounded as his grip tightened on the phone, nearly causing it to crack from the pressure. After several tense seconds he couldn't stand it any longer.

"Hey. You better answer me you idiot. I'm not one for jokes so late."

Nothing.

"Hey! I said answer me!!"

Another tense silence filled the line until the sound of someone lifting the phone reached Ayumu's ears. However the voice on the other end wasn't the one that he wanted to hear.

"You fool. You were warned to stay away from the Blade Children. This is retribution."

Ayumu's eyes went wide. "No way. How…how are you still alive…?"

"What makes you so certain I am?"

"Don't mess with me! What did you do to Hiyono?"

A deep chuckle cut through the line and Ayumu winced at the sheer hatred it concealed.

"Why don't you figure it out Narumi? Use that logic you are so fond of. If you can in the face of such dire consequences."

Ayumu's body trembled. "Consequences…"

"That's right. If you want to know, then I suggest that you start looking from the beginning."

Before Ayumu could say anything further, the line went dead. His eyes were wide as he stared down at the phone in his grasp. Sweat coated his body in a sticky film as bile rose hot and sour in his throat.

How had this happened? Why didn't he see it? Where were Hiyono's parents? Didn't they know what was going on? How could they just stand by and let her be taken?

His stomach lurched and Ayumu threw himself from his bed as he raced for the bathroom. The sound of his retching filled the small apartment and a quick rustling could be heard the next room as Madoka was pulled violently from her sleep.

After she managed to connect what she was hearing Madoka grabbed her robe and belted it tightly around her waist as she rushed into the bathroom to gently rub Ayumu's back as his stomach finally began to settle.

"Ayu-kun? What's wrong? Did you eat something bad?"

Ayumu didn't hear her as he ran the back of his fist across his lips. The sound of Hiyono's frantic cry for help shot through his mind once again and his trembling worsened. His eyes were wide and filled with a lifeless horror that caused Madoka to almost shrink back in fear.

"A-Ayumu? Did you have a nightmare? Was it about Kiyotaka-san?"

No response.

"Was it about Hiyono-chan?"

Ayumu jerked at the sound of Hiyono's name and he clapped a hand to his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from getting sick again.

Getting over her surprise, Madoka grasped Ayumu tightly by his shoulders.

"Tell me what it was about Ayu-kun. Let me help."

"H-Hi-yono…"

"Calm down Ayumu and think logically." Madoka said. "It was just a dream. Hiyono is at her house. Nothing is wrong with her."

His mind was sluggish and none of the thoughts racing through it managed to penetrate his brain. Except one.

"Rutherford."

"Rutherford?" Madoka said. "You mean Eyes Rutherford? Was he in your dream too?"

Ayumu didn't respond. Instead he forcefully shoved his sister-in-law aside and stumbled as quickly as he could back to his room. His eyes jerked around franticly until they landed on the cell phone he had dropped on his floor in his rush to the bathroom.

Faster then lightning he grasped the phone from the floor and shifted through his miniscule contact list until he reached the one he wanted.

"You better answer the phone Rutherford. I don't care what time it is."

"Ayumu," Madoka said as she appeared in his door way. "Who are you calling? Don't tell me you're calling Hiyono-chan so late at night. It was just a nightmare. You're taking it too far."

Ayumu just ignored her and tapped his finger anxiously against his leg as the phone continued to ring. After what seemed ages the ring stopped and a distinctly British accent filled the line.

"Yes."

"Hiyono's gone."

"…." Silence filled the connection until Eyes spoke again. "Meet me at the fountain square in central park in half an hour."

"I'll be there."

"Wha-? Be where? Ayumu it's three in the morning! You aren't going anywhere. Now get back to bed and stop overreacting."

Ayumu sighed. "Madoka."

The darkness of his voice caused Madoka to stiffen a bit but instead of being intimidated she just lifted her chin.

"What?"

Ayumu's face lifted just enough for him to be able to look his sister-in-law in the eyes. "Shut up."

His eyes were filled with liquid fire but his voice was coated with dry ice. Fear struck her deep and she backed down a step as Ayumu stood and began shuffling around his room for some clothes. Without caring that Madoka was still standing in his door way Ayumu stripped off his shirt and replaced it with a black turtle neck. He also pulled off his pajama pants and slipped on a loose pair of pants that allowed him plenty of room to move.

"I'm leaving." He said as he brushed past the motionless Madoka. "Don't follow me."

Madoka didn't make a sound as Ayumu grabbed his coat and slipped on his shoes. However once the door finally slammed closed behind him, Madoka couldn't stop her knees from giving out as she slid, unceremoniously, to Ayumu's bedroom floor.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thirty minutes later found Ayumu slumped against a park bench in front of the fountain. Both Eyes and Rio were already there but they decided to wait for Kousuke and Ryouko before Ayumu explained what was going on.

"Hey, sorry we took so long. Kousuke was a pain to wake up."

"Come on Ryouko. You can't say you were thrilled to get a call at three in the morning either."

"Shut up," Ayumu said. "We have more important things to deal with."

"Oh please Narumi-otouto. To me, there isn't anything more important then getting some sleep."

Rio scowled up at Kousuke. "You're so pathetic Kousuke. If that's how you really feel then why did you even come?"

"Hey. I didn't come because I wanted to. I would still be asleep if Ryouko hadn't shown up to drag me out of—."

"Hiyono's been taken."

The entire group fell silent as they quickly turned their attention to Ayumu.

"It was the Hunters."

"Hunters!" Kousuke said.

"But why would they want Yuizaki-san?" Ryouko said. "She isn't one of the Blade Children so it doesn't make any sense for them to take her."

Ayumu's head dropped to the ground. "Kanzaka."

At that, even Eyes was surprised.

"Hey! Don't screw around with us Narumi! We all know that Kanzaka…died…" Kousuke said. "He couldn't have taken jou-chan."

Ayumu sighed. "I don't get it either, Asazuki. But it was definitely his voice on the other line."

"What did he say?" Ryouko said.

A shiver slid down Ayumu's spine as he looked up at the others, his eyes once again holding the same lifeless look they had back in his room.

"He said. It was retribution. For staying involved with you." Ayumu rubbed a hand across his face. "The last time I saw him, before that night, he told me that if I was going to associate with you I would be treated in the same manor that you all were. I didn't even stop to think that his threat would include Hiyono too. Looks like…I really screwed up. Huh?" His hand tightened around his face. "I…I couldn't…protect her…I couldn't…do anything…"

"But what about her parents?" Rio said. "I can't believe that they wouldn't notice someone in their house. Or are they the type of people that don't care? What do you think Narumi-otouto?"

Ayumu shrugged and dropped his hand. "I've never met her parents. Actually, I've never even been inside her place. Whenever I say I'll walk her home she either says no or she only lets me take her part of the way."

"Perhaps she has no parents."

Ayumu's eyes widened. "What?"

"Think about it," Eyes said. "She never let you see her home and, as far as I understand, she has never mentioned her family to any of us."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean Jou-chan's an orphan or nothing." Kousuke said. "Maybe they're just out of town or something."

"In either case we should go to her home." Eyes said. "If there is even a miniscule possibility of a clue to this mystery it would be there that we should look first."

"I agree," Ayumu said as he stood up from the bench and dusted off his pants. "But I also have a request."

"What is it Narumi-otouto?" Rio said.

"We can't involve anyone else. Especially not the police or Madoka. Agreed?"

Kousuke rolled his eyes. "That's all you had to say? Idiot. We wouldn't have told anyone anyway."

Ryouko elbowed the red head hard in the side. "He means that we promise not to say anything."

A very slight smile tugged at the corner of Ayumu's lips. "Thanks." He said before his face once again returned to its serous neutrality. "Let's go."

End Chapter One

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Kaliea: Hiya! I found spiral on sale at Best Buy and thought, hey, that looks interesting. I was blown away! The mysteries, the story, and the characters were all very well done but the ending totally sucked. So I'm continuing where the anime left off with a few little twists of my own. I hope you enjoy! And don't forget to review! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Hiyono's apartment was a mess. However it wasn't the typical 'there's been a struggle in this place' mess; it was more of a 'I'm just a messy person' mess.

"Jeez," Kousuke said. "Jou-chan sure is messy."

Ryouko let out a short laugh. "Please Kousuke. As if you're one to talk."

Kousuke shrugged. "Hey, it's okay for a guy to be messy. It's just unexpected for a girl is all."

"Are you implying that women have to be domestic Kousuke?" Ryouko said.

His eyes widened. "What? No! I'm just saying that girls usually clean more then guys, that's all."

"Because girls are the ones that are supposed to stay home later in life and be a good little house wife right?"

"Come on Ryouko! Quit twisting my words!"

"You think the two of you could talk about this at another time?" Ayumu broke in. "I really don't care what either of you have to say."

Rio nodded, her face stern. "Otouto's right. For now we just need to worry about finding clues."

"Should we split up and look?" Ryouko asked.

"I don't see why not," Kousuke said. "Eyes already has."

The other three teens present quickly looked around to find that Eyes had indeed already started the search.

'Well,' Ayumu thought. 'At least someone is taking this seriously.'

"So where should we look first?" Rio said as she looked around the messy room.

"I'll start in her bedroom," Kousuke quickly said.

Ryouko grew red. "Why? So you can take a peek in her underwear drawer?"

Kousuke's eyes went wide. "NO!" he said. "Geez Ryouko, how come everything I say has to register in the negative with you?"

"It's only natural for her to assume that Kousuke," Rio said all too innocently. "You do have the look of a pervert."

"What! What are you guys even saying? I'm not a pervert!"

By this time Ayumu had already grown more then annoyed and he had moved around the arguing Blade Children to begin his search in Hiyono's room. Using logic this would be the best place to harbor clues since it was the last place Hiyono was before she disappeared.

The sound of Ayumu opening Hiyono's door caught the attention of the three Blade Children who had yet to search anything and Kousuke quickly put in his two cents.

"Shouldn't you have dusted the knob for prints before you touched it? It may have given us a clue."

Ayumu bit back a snort. "As if a kidnapper of Kanzaka's caliber would be dumb enough to leave finger prints. Besides, what clue would a couple of prints give us if we already know who has Hiyono?"

"Yeah Kousuke," Rio said. "Use your brain for once."

"What did you say?"

Rio smirked. "You heard me."

"If you have time to argue then you have time to search."

Rio quickly jumped as if she had been caught doing something bad and she turned a sheepish grin towards Eyes. His face was impassive as ever but she could see that deep in his icy blue eyes he was rather annoyed.

"Sorry Eyes." Rio said.

Eyes just turned away. "It doesn't matter."

Rio's shoulders dropped and she let out a nearly imperceptible sigh. Ryouko caught it and gently patted the smaller girl and her gray colored hair.

"Don't worry Rio," she said. "He'll come around eventually."

"I dunno," Kousuke said. "He took Kanoune's betrayal pretty hard. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't ever really trust anyone aga—oomph!"

"Serves you right Kousuke," Ryouko said as she pulled her elbow from the red head's stomach. "Maybe now you'll learn to think before you talk."

Confusion settled on Kousuke's face as he watched the two head off to opposite sides of the room to search.

"What'd I say?"

The only response he got was a small pink note book chucked at his face.

"Hmm? What's this?"

No one noticed when Kousuke walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter to read through the book. Opening the first page he saw the words "Hiyono's Book" written out in neat katakana. Curious he flipped to the next page which revealed itself to be a sort of table of contents. Quickly scanning through the page his eyebrows rose a bit in surprise when he realized that it listed the names of people from, not only the school, but all around the city.

Reaching the end of the page he flipped to the next one and found only two names there to complete the list.

Narumi Ayumu and Narumi Kiyotaka.

"Kiyotaka huh?" he smirked. "I wonder just how much this girl was able to find on the guy."

Flipping to the page numbered on the contents list Kousuke found that the entry was actually several pages long.

"Geez," Kousuke said as he finished counting. "I know it's a small book and all but really, how much information could she have learned that would take up almost seven pages?"

Figuring that the only way to find out would be to read what was written Kousuke flipped back to the first page of the entry and began to read.

He was only several paragraphs in before he slammed the little book shut and stared at the kitchen wall, his face pasty pale. Once he regained his senses he quickly looked around to see if anyone else was around before he quickly shoved the book into the inner pocket of his coat.

"Man," he whispered. "Jou-chan is a whole lot scarier then I first thought."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Ayumu's eyes scanned every part of Hiyono's room, searching for anything that looked as though it was out of place. After nearly fifteen minutes of searching he resigned himself to the belief that nothing was there.

In irritation Ayumu turned to the closed door and slammed his fist against the wood. His hand throbbed a bit and he chuckled darkly as he leaned his forehead against the area his fist had met. His eyes were closed as he tried to slow his breathing and calm his mind.

Once he was sure that he was suitably calm, Ayumu opened his eyes just before he moved to push away from the door. He was almost strait up when he noticed something half hidden under the closed door.

"Otouto!" Rio said. "Are you alright?"

Ayumu just barely managed to avoid being whacked in the head by the door as both Rio and Ryouko hurried in.

"We heard a bang," Ryouko said. "We thought someone might have been in here."

Ayumu snorted and gently moved them aside. "Whatever."

"Hmph." Rio pouted and folded her arms tightly across her chest. "You could at least sound grateful that we were worried about you."

"Yeah sure," Ayumu said absently as he knelt down in the door frame.

"Hm? What'd you find otouto?" Rio said as she perched her arms on the top of Ayumu's head in order to see over him.

Ayumu's face scrunched up in annoyance as he tried to shake the smaller girl off.

"Get off of my head."

"Rio."

Rio quickly jerked away from Ayumu and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"Eheheh. Sorry Eyes. I was just curious."

Eyes spared her only a single glance before he looked down at Ayumu.

"Anything?"

"Maybe," Ayumu said. "But I have to analyze it first. Wouldn't want to make a false accusation."

"At least tell us what you found Narumi." Ryouko said. "None of us like being kept in the dark."

Ayumu rolled his eyes and lifted his small piece of evidence.

"Ooh," Rio said. "Is it an engagement ring?"

"Looks that way," Ryouko said.

"Jou-chan was engaged?"

A vein above Ayumu's eye ticked as he shot the newly arrived redhead a glare.

"Don't be an idiot Asazuki." He said. "Hiyono was _**not**_ engaged."

Kousuke grinned and folded his arms behind his head. "Sounds like you're a little jealous Otouto."

Ryouko elbowed the taller boy hard in the gut and hid a smile of satisfaction as he doubled over in surprise and pain.

"Geez Ryouko!" Kousuke whined. "Why do you always gotta do that?"

"Well if some idiot would learn to watch his mouth maybe I wouldn't have to hurt him so often."

"Is that an engraving?" Eyes said, his eyes only mildly curious.

"Yeah," Ayumu said as he slid the diamond ring around in his fingers to view it from all sides. "It's in English." He looked up at Eyes and lifted the ring carefully between his thumb and pointer finger. "Care to translate?"

Eyes didn't even bat a lash as he reached down to take the small object from Ayumu's hand.

"Forever means eternity. Kurokongouseki."

Ayumu cupped his chin with his fingers as he sat back on his heels to think. His eye brows narrowed and his 'twinkles', as Hiyono called them, appeared as a result. He knew that he had seen that before, he just wasn't sure where.

"'Black diamond'?" Rio said. "Why would someone have that engraved on their engagement ring?"

Ayumu's eyes went wide and he swiftly stood. "That's it."

Kousuke and the girls stared at Ayumu in surprise at his sudden declaration. Feeling a bit nervous Rio ventured to get an answer.

"Uh…what's 'it', Otouto."

Instead of answering Ayumu smirked. "It seems like the notes are beginning to play."

End Chapter Two

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Kaliea: So how did you like it? Am I doing alright with the characters? I'll tell you, I'm not at all sure how I'm going to involve any EyesRio stuff since Eyes is so…uh…how would you describe Eyes anyway? Well one thing's for sure, he is not a very good romantic character. Heck, he's just not easy to write period! (Pouts) It's just not fare. I guess the writers don't exactly have fanfiction writers in mind when they come up with their characters. Oh well. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it. Don't forget to review!

* * *

Review Answers: 

O.oCharmedAnimeGirlo.O: Waiting is finished! nn I hope you enjoy!

Unwritten Story: Ohhh boy. I really hope that I don't disappoint you. I hope that you continue to enjoy it.

Juuroku-sama: There won't be very much AyuHiyo between the actually characters but they will think of each other a lot. I hope that makes up for a bit.

MewIchigoPrincess: Actually, I'd like to know how he's going to do it myself…I guess I should probably figure that out huh?

grim reaper sakura: I'll try, but like I mentioned in my summery, I've never done a mystery before so a lot of my readers will probably figure it out before I do. O.o;

Sparkle: I'm glad you liked it and I will do my best.

rizeleth: Fics about Ayumu and Hiyono aren't very plentiful, but the ones on FF . Net are all pretty good. I'm glad you like mine as well.

JennyKim319: I love the show too. I just I hope I manage to do it justice in this little fic of mine. :)

Julia: Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

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Kaliea: Thanks to all of you that reviewed! I really enjoy hearing from you. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop me a line and I'll do my best to answer. Ja for now! 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The sun seemed unusually bright to Madoka as she sat huddled against Ayumu's bed. She hadn't been able to sleep a wink since her little brother-in-law had left earlier in the night. It wasn't from lack of trying, but more out of fear. Every time she closed her eyes the only thing she could see was Ayumu's back as he walked out of the door.

Would he come back? Or would he disappear from his life as completely as Kiyotaka had? She wanted to believe that he would be back. That all of those times he had assured her that he was not and would never be like his brother he meant that he would never leave her behind. But it was so hard. After all, how do you trust a younger brother who is exactly like the older one?

Her musings were cut off as the sound of a key scraping against the lock sounded like thunder through the dead silent apartment. Her blood shot eyes were wide as Madoka scrambled to her feet and raced into the hall. She reached the front door just as it was pushed open and the haggard from of her little brother entered their home.

"Ayumu!" Madoka didn't think twice before she flung her arms around his shoulders as she buried her face in his chest. "How dare you do that? Do you have any idea how worried I was? I thought you would never come back!"

"Sorry," Ayumu said as he pushed her back. "That dream last night just really got to me."

Madoka shook her head and tried to clean her face from tears. "Honestly Ayumu. You of all people should know that dreams are just dreams."

"Right. What do you want for breakfast?"

Madoka just waved her hand absently. "Anything is fine. I'll be in the shower."

"Sure."

Once Ayumu heard the shower running he opened his hand to view his prize. His sister's wedding ring sat in the middle of his palm as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the engagement ring he had found. Holding the two together he noted the similarities in design and make before he tucked the mystery ring back into his pocket and then twisted his sister's ring around in his palm.

Sure enough an English engraving was carved onto the inside of her ring along with the romaji form of kurokongouseki, black diamond. Walking quickly to his room Ayumu grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down the foreign words before he wrote out a note to Madoka saying he found her ring on the floor.

Once he was finished with that, Ayumu made his sister a quick breakfast before he dressed for school, slipped the paper into his pocket, and ran out the front door. The usual trek to the road seemed to go faster then normal as his mind quickly processed the clues he had found. He was still far from a firm conclusion but the workings of a plan were already solidly forming in his mind. If the words he found meant what he thought that they did then he was pretty sure that he found his first clue to Hiyono's location.

After all, the notes of logic always play the melody of truth.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kousuke groaned as he slumped onto the news paper's club room table.

"Geez, how long is Otouto going to take?"

"You know you really should learn to be patient Kousuke." Rio said. "After all, over half of a persons life is spent waiting for something or another."

"Well doesn't that make me feel so much better." The red head mumbled against the cold table top.

"Look Kousuke," Ryouko said. "Moping in here isn't going to make Narumi-san come any faster. So you might as well just do something useful in the meantime."

"Oh, if only Eyes were here," Rio said. "He would know how to pass the time. Perhaps he would even offer us a…melon-y treat?"

"You and your melon obsession, Rio." Kousuke said. "I'll never get it."

Rio huffed and crossed her arms. "That's just because your taste isn't as refined as mine and Eyes-kun's."

"Whatever."

Before Rio could respond, the door to the News Paper office slid open and Ayumu stood in the doorway.

"Alright," He said. "Let's go."

"Go?" Ryouko said. "Go where?"

"To find Eyes." Ayumu said as he turned away. "I think I just found what we were searching for."

"Yeah?" Kousuke said as he followed Ayumu from the room.

"What is it?" Rio asked.

"Another ring."

"Where did you find it?"

Before Ayumu had the chance to answer Ryouko, the group found their exit route cut off by the tall figure of Moritaka-sensei.

"And just where do you think that you four are going?"

The Blade Children all shared a glance, each silently asking the others for an excuse.

"We're cutting class."

Rio, Kousuke, and Ryouko nearly fell over from the shock of Ayumu's statement. Instead they simply watched as Moritaka turned red, then purple, then blue from anger.

"Is that so?" Moritaka demanded. "Well then—."

"Of course not." Ayumu rolled his eyes and held out a slip of paper. "We were asked by our teachers to take today's reports to the teachers' room."

Moritaka grabbed the paper from Ayumu's hand and read it over before he huffed and gave it back. "Well hurry up then. If you are late getting back then I'll be sure that you each receive at least one red mark."

The three Blade Children stared in awe as the teacher turned to leave, nearly forgetting to bow in there complete shock. Once Moritaka was gone they all turned to Ayumu.

"Dang otouto." Kousuke said. "How did you manage that?"

"And where did you get that note?" Rio said. "It looks just like the real thing."

Ayumu snorted and tucked the note away into his pocket.

"It is the real thing." He said. "I went to homeroom this morning and offered to take the reports to the teachers' room so that I would have one in case this happened. Now we can walk through the halls and out the front door with out anyone being any wiser."

Once again the three friends gaped at him in shock before they each hurried to catch up to his retreating form.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Eyes sat rigidly on the piano bench as he scanned the first few bars of Beethoven's Ninth. It wasn't a particularly difficult piece for him to perform, but it was silently one of his favorites. He wasn't sure exactly why. Perhaps the music simply managed to touch a part of his soul that he had always thought lost or deeply hidden.

When his mother died he had taken to playing this particular piece much more often, as though he were trying to pour out his emotions using it. Or maybe he had been trying to invent the emotions that should have been.

Whatever the reason, he refused to play it in any way that was less then perfect so he always took extra care in the preparation of this one song. Which is why he now sat, hands posed, back strait, and eyes focused.

Begin the count.

One and two and three and four.

He began.

He was only two measures into the second movement when the door to his apartment opened. His fingers stopped abruptly and he forced back the irritation that welled up in his stomach at the interruption.

"What is it?" He demanded without turning to observe the intruders.

"Sorry to barge in." Ayumu said not sounding it in the least. "But I have something I need you to read."

Eyes slowly stood and turned to face Ayumu and the others. Kousuke and Ryouko looked oblivious but Rio shifted guiltily under the smoldering glare of his ice blue eyes. Her cheeks were tinted a dull pink as she forcefully focused her eyes on anything but him.

Rio was probably the only other person that knew of Eyes' attachment to that piece. It was one of the very few things he had been willing to tell her in the times that they were alone and unfocused on their destiny as the Blade Children. She was extremely upset that she and the others had interrupted and greatly wished that she had more firmly told them that they should check the intercom.

When Rio finally got up the courage to look at Eyes squarely she focused all of her feelings into her eyes, hoping that they would tell the taller boy just how sorry she was for intruding. When his icy orbs met her dull gray ones, Eyes nodded nearly imperceptively and Rio let out a small sigh of relief.

At least he wasn't mad.

Ayumu noted the quick exchange with a large amount of disinterest before he fished into the pocket of his uniform jacket and pulled out the paper he had hastily scribbled the inscription on earlier that morning.

"Here," Ayumu said as he held it out to the young piano player.

Eyes took the paper and quickly scanned it before he once again translated the words none of the others could read.

"Even when parted. Kurokongouseki."

"It's just like I thought." Ayumu said. "Hey Rutherford. Do you have a computer?"

Eyes scoffed and turned back to his piano. "I have no need of such things."

"I do," Ryouko said. "But it's back at my dorm room."

"Fine," Ayumu said. "Let's go."

XXXXXXXXXX

Kousuke grumbled as he leaned against the stone wall that surrounded the girl's dormitory. He didn't see why he had to stay behind when Narumi got to go in.

It was discrimination. That's what it was.

Either that or preference and he would rather not think about the idea of Ryouko preferring Kiyotaka's little brother's company over his own. That would just be a low blow. After all, Narumi wasn't the one that was there all those years ago. He and Ryouko had a solid history. What did she and Narumi have? Nothing, that's what.

Kousuke sighed as he shoved his hands into his pockets. At least he could pretend he was here doing what Ryouko told him to do. After all, what good would being left behind as a look out be if he didn't actually watch for anyone?

But just because he was doing it didn't mean he liked it. He was still going to get back at Narumi some how.

…After Jou-chan is found. He really didn't want to mess with Narumi while he was on a rampage. That could get scary.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So what exactly are you doing?" Ryouko said as she leaned over Ayumu's shoulder.

"Confirming." Ayumu said without looking up.

Rio's cheeks puffed out in irritation as she poked Ayumu hard in the arm. "That doesn't tell us anything!"

Ayumu spared only a second to glare at her before he swatted her hand away and returned to his searching.

"My brother was in Okinawa interviewing a witness for a case about three and a half years ago. When he came back he introduced my family to his fiancée Madoka. My mom was upset because she had wanted him to use her mother's ring when he decided to get married and when she asked him where he got it he said it was a 'Black Diamond'."

"So then you think that kurokongouseki is a store?" Ryouko said. "Is it a chain store or a privately owned one?"

"That's what we're here to find out." Ayumu said. "But if my hunch is correct, then it is a privately owned store. Probably a family business in a small town."

"And if it's not?" Ryouko asked.

"Then I'm wrong," Ayumu said. "But on the other hand."

A map appeared on the screen with printable directions to Kurokongouseki. The city indicated was Ishigaki on Okinawa.

Ayumu smirked and swiveled in his chair to face the girls.

"The melody of logic always plays the notes of truth."

"So now what?" Ryouko said. "We can't all exactly afford tickets to Okinawa. Especially not ones for today or tomorrow."

Rio's eyes lit up. "Actually, I think that we probably can." Quickly she pulled out her phone and hit speed-dial. The sound of ringing was heard for a second or two before the other side of the line clicked.

"Hello?" Rio said. "Eyes-kun? We need five tickets to Okinawa. Can you get them?"

A second of silence.

"Great!" Rio said. "We'll meet you there. Bai-bai."

Rio snapped her phone shut and grinned up at the others. "Grab anything you need, because our next stop is the airport."

End Chapter Three

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Kaliea: So what do you think? Are you curious? If so then I'm doing my job right. Thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy!

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Review Answers: 

flower miko: I haven't read the whole manga but I did read the first twenty chapters so I'm putting a few things from that in. I would love to read the rest of the manga but for now I'm just going off the show. Thank-you for your praise. I swear I blushed three colors.

grim reaper sakura: Yeah, I'll do my best with him though. After all, a good writer can bring any character to life right? I'll just think of this as a challenge that I need to over come. Thank you for your offer to help also. That would be great, and if I ever get stuck I will be sure to ask you first.

minikitteno5: This takes place not very long after the show ends. Maybe a week or two at most.

rizeleth: Usually when I start a new fic I update it pretty quickly. After a while though the stuff just stops flowing out and I actually have to work at is so the updates will get slower and further apart. But no matter what, I will finish it, it just may take a while.

JennyKim319: Thanks! The whole "melody of logic" thing is one of my favorite parts of the anime. I really wish it was used more, so you'll be seeing a lot of it in this story I'm sure.

O.oCharmedAnimeGirlo.O: Yep. But I hope that the truth isn't what you think it will be. If it is then I have a long way to go with mystery writing.

Unwritten Story: Thank you very much! It's always wonderful to hear that I'm writing the characters 'in character'. Nothing erks me more then a story that writes the characters completely wrong. It's like it's a completely different story which makes it really hard to get into it. But anyway, I'm glad that you think I'm doing well.

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Kaliea: Well I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. If so then drop me a review. If not then tell me what you think can be improved. Please give me constructive criticism, this is my first Mystery and I would appreciate any tips. Until next time, Ja ne! 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Madoka paced back and forth across the living room floor. Every now and again her eyes would dart to the phone, as if begging it to ring. Her fingers jumped nervously from playing with the ends of her hair to straitening her shirt to twirling her wedding band around her finger. She knew exactly why she was so nervous, but she didn't want to put it into words. She didn't even want to put it into thoughts. It was almost as if she felt that saying it would make it, well, real.

She had gotten a phone call at work at around noon saying that her little brother-in-law had disappeared and did she know what had happened to him? Because it was strictly against their school policy for students to leave without verifying their departure with the office.

Madoka quickly informed them that no, she was not aware of Ayumu's absence and that she was sure that there was a reasonable explanation. The rest of the conversation was muted in her mind as her thoughts quickly turned to their own devices. Where did Ayumu go? Why didn't he say anything? Was this about last night?

And of course the most terrifying thought of all was the one that rang the loudest.

This is just like what happened with Kiyotaka.

After a hurried good-bye to the school's principal Madoka grabbed her suit coat and her purse and ran from the office. She left a hurried explanation with the new police chief who calmly nodded and waved her on and then she was gone.

The trip home was long. Much, much longer then usual and blood pounded loudly in her ears the whole way. All she could think was that something had happened to Ayumu or that he had left and she would never see him again. Even now, almost five hours later, she was still jumpy and nervous.

Her eyes darted back to the phone for the eighth time in the last two minutes. When was it going to ring?

The thought had no sooner crossed her mind when the phone jumped to life. Her head just barely missed the wall as she dived for it and quickly switched it on.

"Ayumu!"

There was silence for only a second.

"Hello Madoka."

Her eyes went wide before the phone dropped to the floor and everything went black.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ayumu sighed silently as he watched the clouds pass below the plane. Eyes had done rather well getting them a flight at such short notice. They only had to wait six hours for the five o'clock flight as opposed to the thirty-seven hours they would have been forced to wait if they had tried to get one themselves. They were even traveling first class.

Not that Ayumu actually cared. He didn't even really notice. All he wanted was for the next two hours to pass by as quickly as possible. That's not to say that he was being idle either. In fact, his brain was working nearly twice as fast as it had been before. He ran through every possible scenario, every detail, and every suspect he could think of.

Did Kanzaka have an accomplice? If so, then who? Is that connected to how he survived?

These are only a sample of the questions that were flying through Ayumu's head. Unfortunately, the number of questions far out weighed the number of answers. Hopefully though, this little trip would clear up a few of them. He highly doubted that it would clear them all, but for now, he was willing to take what little clues he could get.

"Hey," Kousuke said, jolting Ayumu from his thoughts. "How exactly are we going to get from Naha to Ishigaki? And where are we going to stay?"

"There isn't a train system in Okinawa," Ayumu said. "So we'll have to get a taxi from the airport to the docks on the coast. It will take about fourteen hours by boat to reach Ishigaki and in that time we will have looked at a list of hotels and chosen one to stay in."

"And who is paying for all of this?" Kousuke said. "I doubt even Eyes would be okay with spending that much money just to find your girlfriend."

Ayumu shot Kousuke a dark glare before he returned his gaze to the window. "I already talked it over with Rutherford in the airport. He says that the costs don't matter."

"Boy," Kousuke muttered. "He must really like you."

Ayumu didn't answer and instead continued to watch as the pink tinted clouds swam across the sky.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hiyono bit her lip to try and keep a hold of her surroundings. Her guts were flipping and her head was spinning as she tried to focus on the area around her. Using the flecks of logic that she had picked up from Ayumu, Hiyono tried to place her symptoms.

Most likely her captor had drugged her in an attempt to keep her complaisant. She didn't know which drug it was but, judging by her inability to think with out completely forcing herself, it was pretty potent.

Even though her eyes were still a bit blurry she did her best to take in her surroundings. From what it looked like she was in an old abandoned shrine, which was odd since she didn't think that there were any still around. She must be in the mountains some where.

But where and in which mountains she couldn't say. There were so few places in Japan that were uninhabited that she was almost glad that she was in a place where no one was. Maybe then Ayumu could narrow down the area easier.

Maybe.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kanoune Hilbert wasn't the greatest of people. But to be fair none of the Blade Children were. It was in their blood. They were demons. It wasn't their fault though, not really. The couldn't help it. They were born that way. And no one can help it if they are born with bad blood. The blood of a killer.

His hands were stained with so much death he was sure it would be impossible to scrub of the remaining red even if he spent the next forty years doing nothing but washing them. But he didn't care. Soon none of that blood would matter, because there wouldn't be any more people to kill.

Kanoune checked the clip of his magnum before he quickly snapped it back in place and switched on the safety. The slid the weapon into the holster on his left breast and pulled a suit coat over top of it to hide it from view. Soon it would all be over. Soon he could rest.

But for now, he had a plane to catch.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Madoka couldn't stop herself from moaning as she gently rested the back of her hand against her forehead. For a moment she just laid still, her eyes closed and her breathing even, until she let out a hollow laugh and grasped her bangs with her long fingers.

"Geez Madoka," She said. "You've really lost it this time. Now you're even hearing voices."

A soft chuckle came from her left and she stiffened.

"Not quite."

Her eyes flew open and she shot up strait as she stared in absolute horror at the person before her.

"Kiyotaka!"

Kiyotaka smiled and brushed his fingers against her cheek.

"Hello Madoka."

Dumbed by shock Madoka couldn't say a word, though her lips kept moving in an attempt to do so. Her eyes searched every inch of Kiyotaka's face, as though daring him to be a dream, or an imposter. Finally when she was certain that this really was her husband Madoka did the only thing that she could think of to do after their two year separation.

She punched him hard in the face.

Kiyotaka groaned out a laugh as he gently wiped a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were half lidded with pain as he lifted his face back up to face his teary eyed wife.

"Really Madoka. Is that all you have to say?"

"You-you are such a—." Madoka's tears began to fall as she sat trembling on her bed. "How dare you just show back up like you never left? Did you think that I would just welcome you back? That all this time I've been a dutiful wife who never stopped believing that you would come back?" As her anger escalated so did the volume of her voice until she was all but screaming at him. "Well guess what! I don't want you here! I don't! I don't I don't I don't I—!"

Kiyotaka cut her off as he grasped her shoulders and pulled her in for a long kiss. More tears fell from Madoka's eyes as she clung to him and kissed him back with as much fire as she could muster. Her fists clenched tightly against his shirt, wrinkling it badly in her iron grip.

After what seemed both ages and a second all at once Kiyotaka slowly pulled back, smiling softly as Madoka whimpered in displeasure. His thumb ran gently across her kiss bruised lips as he used his left hand to wipe away her freely falling tears.

"I'm sorry." He said before he gently kissed her once more. "I didn't want to hurt you, but to be honest I always knew that I was going to leave. That's why I married you."

Madoka's jaw dropped in shock. "Y-you married me so that you could just dump me? Y-you didn't care at all?" Her tears returned but this time they were tears of anger as she struggled to push Kiyotaka away. "Why did you come back then! Just leave! I hate you!"

Kiyotaka pulled Madoka into a tight hug until her struggling finally stopped and she fell, limp and crying, into his arms.

"What do you want from me?" Madoka sobbed. "Are you just here to torture me? To taunt me before you leave me broken again?"

"No." Kiyotaka's voice was firm as he gently rocked his wife from side to side. "I'm not going to leave you again. You didn't understand what I meant when I said that was why I married you." He carefully pushed her away so that he could see her face. His fingers stroked her cheek gently as he continued.

"I knew that I had to leave long before I met you. The reason it took me so long to do it was because I fell in love with you. That is the reason why I married you. Because I wanted to know, that even after I left, you would always be here when I came back. You would always be mine."

Kiyotaka slipped Madoka's ring from her trembling finger before he held it up for her to see.

"Even when parted." He read.

Madoka sniffed once before she wailed and threw herself into Kiyotaka's arms once more. There was more that he had to tell her, much more. But for now, just holding her after so long was enough. The rest could wait until later.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun had long set, but Ayumu still found it hard to sleep. How could he when every time he closed his eyes he saw the image of Hiyono tied up, or beaten as he heard her voice screaming over and over for help. His help.

Ayumu sighed and rested his forehead against the cool glass of the ferry window. There was still eight hours left in the trip with nothing more to do then sleep. They had already chosen their hotel and plotted out the shortest route to Kurokongouseki so he couldn't use planning as a half hearted excuse to stay awake and spare himself the nightmares he knew would come.

"Oi, otouto," Kousuke said. "If you aren't going to sleep then go somewhere else. We're all tired."

Ayumu looked over at the reclined redhead and bit back a snort. "Like you need quiet to sleep Asazuki. Besides, at least I won't get kicked out for snoring if I do fall asleep."

Kousuke opened his eyes just wide enough to glare at Ayumu before he rolled over and tucked his arm under his head.

"Whatever. Just be quiet will ya?"

"Don't listen to him Narumi-san." Ryouko said. "He's just jealous."

"I am not!" Kousuke said as he sat up. "What am I supposed to be jealous about anyway?"

"You're jealous because we're all paying more attention to Narumi-san then we are to you." Ryouko sighed and shook her head. "That's just like you Kousuke."

"Wha-! But I never said that!"

"Quiet." Eyes said, successfully cutting off Ryouko's smart remark. "Narumi-otouto. The time that we will have to sleep will be short until we are able to find the girl. I suggest you take anytime that you manage, despite any fears you may have."

"Hn. I don't have any fears." Ayumu said. "I just don't like sleeping around so many people."

A flicker of a smile tugged at the corner of Eyes' mouth. "Then that is something that the two of us have in common."

"Whatever," Ayumu said. He flopped down onto the row of padded seats and attempted to fall into a restless sleep.

End Chapter Four

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Kaliea: So what do you think? I actually wasn't planning on having Kiyotaka show up so early but the chapter kind of wrote itself out that way. Anyway, I hope that you all liked it.

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Review Answers:

Sono Kurushiitokinokamidano...: So do I. To be honest I never really know what happens in my stories until I write it. I have a plan of course, but most of the time its really more loose guidelines then anything.

sarangxseohaee: I'll try my best but I have a lot to do.

DianaMe: I'm glad that you like it. I hope that you continue to.

blubaby: I'm glad! It's always nice to hear that your work is appreciated.

Unwritten Story: Thank-you. There are a lot of twists and such that I've planned in but chances are they won't come off quite right. Still, this is good practice for the future.

O.oCharmedAnimeGirlo.O: I'll try. Nice song by the way. I can't help but think I've heard it before though…nn

rizeleth: I'm glad you think so. I spend a lot of time reading what I wrote over and over just to make sure that it sounds (in my head) like the voices and characters in the show. I think I'm doing pretty well so far but as things go on…well, I'll continue to try hard in anycase.

* * *

Kaliea: Thanks so much for all of your reviews. I hope that you all continue to like it and if you have any suggestions I'll be happy to take them. Don't forget to review, and until next time, Ja ne! 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When Madoka awoke the next morning she found that her eyes were nearly glued shut from all of the tears she had cried through out the night before. She gently rubbed them to rid them of the itchiness and so that she could properly see her husband once again. When she was finally awake enough she opened her eyes and found herself looking at Kiyotaka's bare chest as he lay propped up on his elbow watching her.

"Good morning beautiful."

Madoka blushed. "Were you watching me all this time?"

Kiyotaka just chuckled and leaned over to kiss her softly on the mouth.

"Come on, we need to get some breakfast."

Madoka nearly whimpered in protest before her eyes flew open and a harsh gasp escaped her lips.

"Breakfast…Oh no! Ayumu!"

Forgetting her state of undress, Madoka flung the covers from her body and raced from her room to Ayumu's room. Kiyotaka cursed a bit and fumbled for the sheet before he followed, determined that his little brother would not get a look at what rightfully belonged to the eldest Narumi.

When he reached Ayumu's door, however, he found Madoka crumbled to her knees at the entrance, her face buried in her hands as her shoulders shook with silent sobs.

"Madoka?" Kiyotaka said as he lowered the sheet around her shoulders. "What is it?"

Grasping the covering out of instinct, Madoka wrapped her arms around her waist but didn't look up as she responded.

"Ayumu is still gone. He-he's never coming back is he? It's just like…just like…" She couldn't finish as another round of sobs broke past her lips and she crumbled, once again, into Kiyotaka's embrace.

'Ayumu…gone?' Kiyotaka's thoughts were racing in his head as he stared at the empty room. 'How did I not know?'

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The building was old, but it was well kept; it was obvious that it brought in a fare amount of money. A bell above the western style door jingled as Ayumu pushed it open and stepped inside. The air was warm, as was normal for the time of year, but not unbearable as there were several fans positioned strategically around the small space.

"Where is everyone?" Rio asked as she looked around the shop. "It is open isn't it?"

Ayumu resisted the temptation to roll his eyes as he stepped up to the counter to ding the small silver bell.

"Don't be stupid Rio. If the store wasn't open we wouldn't have been able to get inside."

Rio glared at the back of Ayumu's head; her silver gray eyes flashing in the dim light.

"I was being rhetorical otouto. I know perfectly well that the store is open."

Instead of answering Ayumu just sighed and tapped his finger against the marble counter top. He really didn't know why Rio had insisted on coming along; her being there was completely pointless. Besides, wouldn't she rather be spending this time with Rutherford? She certainly didn't mind spending ever other minute of her life with the young pianist.

"Why are you even here?" Ayumu said with out thinking. Rio, who had been looking at a pretty sapphire stoned promise ring flushed but didn't get the chance to retort because, at that moment, the shop owner stepped in from the back room; a kind smile on his features.

"Is there something that I may help you with, young man?" The man's eyes shifted to Rio. "A ring for your girl, perhaps?"

Ayumu looked slightly ill at the assumption as he gave the man a stiff and non-debatable 'no'. He pulled a small plastic bag from the pocket of his jeans and set it carefully on the counter top.

"I need to know who the owner of this ring is."

"Hm…"

Kuro Musaishi was a man of many years and many experiences; he remembered much and lived much as well. The Kuro family shop, Kuro Kongouseki, was his pride. It was passed to him from his father and he had hoped to one day pass the shop down to his own daughter Shiori and her husband. Sadly he now knew that possibility would never come to pass.

With his eyes closed against the pain Musaishi clenched the small ring tight in his fist.

"Why is it that you wish to know?"

Ayumu pursed his lips together into a thin line as he debated on how much to tell the man. He seemed honest; a regular old grandfather figure, but that didn't mean that it was safe to tell him everything. Or anything for that matter. Still, if he wanted answers it seemed that he had little choice but to give out a few of his own first.

"A friend of mine…disappeared recently. I have reason to believe that the owner of that ring might be able to tell me what I need to find her."

Musaishi's eyes opened and he looked down at the serious young man before he shook his head sadly.

"I doubt it son. The person who owns this ring is no longer of this world."

Ayumu's eyes narrowed as his fingers slowly began to curl into a fist.

"There must be someone that I can talk to. I need to know about the owner of this ring."

Musaishi fought back a frown as he stared at the young boy. He looked no older then seventeen but his eyes screamed out the secrets of ages. He had an old soul, this child. He had few years, but many experiences. Much like his own life had been so long ago.

Finally Musaishi came to a decision.

"The girl that owned this ring was my daughter. She was a pretty young thing, only twenty years old, when that young man gave it to her. Was the greatest love I've seen since I married my own wife forty-two years ago. Sadly, her husband was murdered not long after their marriage. My little Shiori died not two months later of a broken heart." Musaishi's eyes were brimmed with unshed tears as he looked down at the ring held on his flat palm. "I never thought I would see this again after it was stolen it from her finger the day before her funeral."

Ayumu's shoulders dropped, the depression of a dead end welling up inside of his breast. How was he supposed to find his way to Hiyono now?

"She means a great deal to you, this young woman?"

Unable to stop himself, Ayumu nodded an affirmative. Musaishi smiled sadly and motioned for the boy to extend his hand.

"Even the darkest of times shine with the light of hope. Do not allow yourself to give in to despair, because only then will she truly be lost to you forever." Musaishi set the ring into Ayumu's offered hand.

"I can't—."

Musaishi shook his head. "No. Take it. Let it be a hope and when the day comes that you do find your young woman I only ask that you let her have it. Do not allow her to stray from you again."

His cheeks dusted red from embarrassment, Ayumu nodded and folded his fingers around the ring not sure exactly what it was that he should say. Finally, after several tense seconds Ayumu nodded to the old shop keeper and motioned for the awed and confused Rio to leave the shop. He hadn't even taken three steps, however, when Musaishi's voice spoke out again.

"One moment my boy."

"My daughter's husband went by the name of Kanzaka. Kanzaka Kae. It isn't much, but I hope it helps. As for that ring…" Ayumu was just in time to catch the silver chain the old man tossed his way. "Be sure to keep it close."

"Thanks." Ayumu said. "You were a lot of help."

And with that, the two teens were gone, leaving the shop and Musaishi alone once again.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So what did you find out Narumi-san?" Ryouko asked. "Anything useful?"

"The ring used to belong to the man's daughter. Apparently she was married to a man named Kanzaka Kae."

Kousuke shot up strait from where he had been lounging back against the hotel couch.

"Whoa, wait! Kanzaka? As in Chief Kanzaka back in Osaka?"

Ayumu's eyes narrowed in thought making his 'twinkles', as Hiyono had dubbed them, show on his forehead.

"It is possible, but to place out luck on chance?" He shook his head. "It would be better it we had more facts before we started to deduce anything."

"Well then," Eyes said, speaking up for the first time. "What is it that you suggest Narumi-otouto?"

Ayumu was silent as he spared a glance down at the ring in his hand before he shut it away in his grasp and looked up at the gathered Blade Children.

"We'll rest for tonight and tomorrow we begin searching for clues." Ayumu said. "Even if this 'Kae' isn't related to Kanzaka, I want to know everything there is about him and his wife Shiori before we leave for Osaka. Hopefully, that won't take to long, because I have a feeling that we don't have much longer to take."

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Kaliea: Short, I know. But it's late, I'm tired, and it is an update. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed that. Next chapter we should be getting another glimps of Hiyono and maybe shed a bit of light on what it is that Kanoune has planned for his next move. Till then, ja ne!

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Review Answers:

Animejunkie2: Me too. I guess I'll know soon enough.

grim reaper sakura: I hope so. I mean, hey, if my husband suddenly ditched me after only a year for some crazy scheme and suddenly appeared again two years later like he had never left, I'd hit him too.

Rizeleth: Everyone has a part to play, only this time Kiyotaka isn't the one pulling the strings, and that will make everyone more then a little edgy.

Marionne Danita2: Thank-you! I really appreciate that.

Unwritten Story: You'll just have to wait a little longer to find out what it is that Kiyotaka came back for. The reason being I have yet to completely figure it out. -.-;

Blubaby: I have no idea. I'll post as soon as I do.

O.oCharmedAnimeGirlo.O: I'll try my best.

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Kaliea: Thanks to all of you for your reviews. I really like hearing from you, it boosts my moral. I hope you review again! Till next time, ja ne! 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

There wasn't much that the people of Ishigaki could tell Ayumu and his friends that they didn't already know. Kanzaka Kae was a bit of an enigma. He arrived in Ishigaki almost four years ago out of seemingly nowhere. He didn't talk about his past or where he came from aside from the fact that he had just finished his masters in medicine. He had just come to Ishigaki to work as a private care doctor for the Kuro family.

Apparently Kuro Maya was suffering from an unknown illness and Kae, who majored in experimental medicine, was called in to see what he could do for her. He was thirty-three but he didn't look much older then twenty four. His hair was dark like most natives of Japan but his eyes were a bright blue. He once told Shiori that it was because his mother was half American. It was by treating her mother, Maya, that Kae came to know and love Kuro Shiori. They courted for almost three years before Kae finally asked her to marry him.

Sadly Kae was killed only five months after his marriage leaving his wife Shiori alone to deal with the grief of, not only his death, but the death of her mother that quickly followed it. She died two months later in her sleep from what could only be explained as a broken heart.

Ayumu blew out an irritated breath as he listened to the seventh (or was it more?) person that day who babbled on about how completely romantic the whole story was. He really didn't care about the romance of dying of a broken heart; he just wanted to know who Kanzaka Kae was and where he came from.

When the woman he was talking to finally waved a cheerful good-bye, Ayumu had to force himself to give a small jerk of his wrist back. After all, it was only polite to acknowledge that she at least tried to help him, even if all she told him was the same stuff he had heard from the six others before her. Feeling dejected, but more irritated then anything else, Ayumu made his way back to the hotel where he was supposed to meet up with the others. Hopefully they would have more to tell then he did.

After he reached the hotel suite that he and the others shared Ayumu used his key card to open the door before he pushed it open and uttered a quick 'tadaima'.

"Narumi-san," Ryoko said with a frown. "You didn't learn anything either?"

Ayumu sighed and closed the door with a shake of his head. "All I kept hearing was the same thing over and over. After the fourth time you start to realize that it gets really old."

"Tell me about it," Kousuke said. "If I had to listen to one more person tell me how romantic it was that this Shiori chick died with a broken heart, I probably would have broken their heart."

Eyes didn't even so much as blink in the other's direction as he stirred his tea from the kitchen table. The china tinkled as he lifted the cup from its saucer and pressed it to his lips.

"Rio has not yet returned." He said as he paused in drinking. "Perhaps she will have had better luck then the rest of us in acquiring the necessary information."

Just as he finished speaking the others heard the mechanical lock click as the hotel door was pushed open.

"Guess what!" Rio said as she pushed the door open. "I made a friend!"

The figure in the hallway was shrouded by the shadows made by the setting sun but as soon as Rio moved out of the way to allow her entrance into the room the darkness fell away revealing a young face with curly dark brown hair framing it gently. Her bright blue eyes shown in the fading light as she smiled and bowed politely to the small group.

"My name is Nisemono Mei. I have heard that you wish to hear of Kei-onii-san. If that is the case, then perhaps I may be of some help."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I didn't really know Kei-onii-san very well. I only met him a few times while I was growing up because he was five years older. Actually, it wasn't until his father married my mom after I turned fourteen that I actually met him. He had come for the wedding and to meet me. We all lived in the same apartment complex; that's how our parents met."

"So he was your brother?" Ryouko said.

Mei nodded. "He was my stepbrother, yes."

"And his dad was your step-father." Ayumu said. "What was his name?"

Mei pursed her lips in thought as she pressed a neatly manicured finger to her chin. "It's been so long that I can't be sure. I think that his name was Kanzaka Keishisei, but I could be completely wrong. I never actually heard mom use his full name, and he wasn't ever really around much anyway."

"His father's name is Keishisei?" Rio asked, sending a questioning look at Eyes. The white haired boy didn't even blink.

"Yes, and Kei-onii-san's full name is Keiichi. I only ever heard Amariko-chan calling him Kei though and it kind of stuck with me I guess."

"Amariko?"

"Oh, she was my best friend growing up."

"And do you know what happened to make Kei leave?"

"Actually, I think that it had something to do with Amariko-chan." Mei said. "She really liked him, you know? But not like normal. She kept saying that she was going to marry him someday. I think one night she must have told him or did something because the next day he was gone and no one knew where he went."

"If no one knew where he went then how did you find out?"

"I didn't. I got a job here working for a man named Kuro-sama. He runs a small jewelry shop." Mei said. "I'm a jeweler and I thought that it was rather remarkable that I was chosen by a man with such a reputation."

"Did you ever tell your friend that Kei was here?"

Mei bit her lip and looked a way, seemingly embarrassed. "No…see. Kei had just gotten married and Shiori-san was so nice. I didn't want him to have to worry about Amariko-chan getting upset. I know that we never really knew each other but he was still my stepbrother." She sighed. "I was really sad when I heard that he had died."

"Do you know how he died?"

Mei shook her head. "No, I only know that the police believed that it was murder."

Ayumu sat up a little from where he had been lounging on the couch. "Believed?"

Mei nodded. "Didn't you know? They never found his body."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hiyono's eyes were blurry as she looked around the room she was being held in. It certainly didn't look like the same place she had been in before but she was learning to expect that. She didn't know how long she had been gone but already she had fallen asleep and woken up in three different places. She also didn't know if she was being moved be cause she was asleep or asleep because she was being moved.

The slightly metallic taste in her mouth told her it was the latter. Although, she never really had a knock out drug besides chloroform before so it was entirely possible that she was just imagining how good it would feel to finally be able to brush her teeth again.

"Finally awake?"

Hiyono's head shot up and she groaned as the room began to spin.

"I'm sorry," the voice spoke again. "I didn't mean to startle you. Are you alright?"

Hiyono nodded very softly as she squinted in the dim light to try and see who it was that she was talking too.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, of course." The man smiled. "I'm sorry. My name is Kei. And you are?"

"Hiyono." She said. "Yuizaki Hiyono."

"Well Yuizaki-chan, it's good to have company after such a long time."

Hiyono smiled. "I'm glad to be of service Kei-san."

Kei just smiled.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Madoka stared at Kiyotaka in shock as he helped her pull on her coat. She did so mechanically not really noticing that she had even moved.

"You mean all this time that girl was here under your command?" Madoka said. "Why?"

"I wanted to make sure that you and Ayumu were doing alright. With my being gone to help the Blade Children I had no way of knowing if you two were safe." Kiyotaka said as he pulled the apartment door open and motioned for Madoka to go out. "I met Hiyono-san only a few months after I had first left and rescued her from a rather undesirable situation. For payment I only asked that she relocate here and keep an eye on Ayumu. Once the Blade Children began arriving here I was rather grateful for my foresight. I had already known that Ayumu would have to face a great many tasks, but I didn't realize that he had been so far lost in my shadow." He smiled sadly. "I suppose even geniuses like myself occasionally make mistakes."

"But why would someone take Hiyono-san. Even if she does help Ayu-kun she isn't really that important in the grand scheme of things is she?"

Kiyotaka paused for a moment in his steps so his wife could catch up to him before he spoke again.

"If this were simply about the Blade Children then I would imagine that Hiyono would have been left on her own, or at least she would have been kept here in Osaka. No, I believe that this must go much further then just the Blade Children or just Ayumu. If anything, I would think that this involves Hiyono directly and Ayumu and the others were just pulled along for the ride."

"That's another thing," Madoka said. "Who are these 'others'?"

"The Blade Children," Kiyotaka said in surprise. "I had thought that that would be obvious."

Madoka flushed a bit before she planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin in a defiant manner.

"Not everyone can be brilliant Kiyotaka. Besides, Ayumu-kun told me over and over that he had nothing to do with them. I didn't believe that he knew nothing but I didn't think that he associated with them either." Suddenly fire appeared in her eyes as she clenched her fist hard in front of her face. "I guess this means I'll just have to hit him twice when I see him. Once for leaving, and once for lying."

Kiyotaka laughed softly as he took her fist and kissed the back gently. "I missed you." He said. "Beyond words."

Madoka flushed before she slowly pulled her hand away and coughed. "Yes, well. We need to find Ayu-kun. That can wait till later."

Kiyotaka nodded, his face suddenly firm. "Yes. It is time that we listen to my brother's melody." He smiled slightly. "And I can't help but believe that it will be far superior to my own."

End Chapter Six

* * *

Kaliea: Another short one. Oh well. Tell me what you think!

* * *

Review Answers:

just another baka: I'll do my best.

Animejunkie: I'll try, but like I said before, there won't be flames for a while.

Yuin: I hope you liked the chapter.

pie108: No she shouldn't have, but women in love are always more forgiving the those of us on the sidelines.

Animejunkie: Unfortunately there aren't going to be many flames for a while. I hope that doesn't stop you from reading though.

Jewely2951: Thank-you, I'll try.

kenshinroks2111: I'm glad you think so, I'm doing my best to keep it that way.

Jkminimoon: I'm glad that my writing has helped you even a bit, that's the kind of praise that authors like myself live off of. As for a beta reader, I'm grateful for the offer but my fanfics are really only that. They're important to me of course, but not so important that I will spend a lot of time on them. I'd much rather just write and post. But thank you for the offer and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

O.oCharmedAnimeGirlo.O: I hope this is soon enough.

Imuzuok: I tried my best.

Missysillivan: Thank-you!

grim reaper sakura: Well, that's the key to a good mystery right? Keep everyone guessing.

BeAuTifuL SmiLe: Sorry it's not very long, but I've never been one for long chapters. I hope you liked it anyway.

Charlie the Unicorn: I do read the manga but I started this fic after only ever seeing the anime, as such the things in it that are similar to the manga ie; Hiyono not having parents or working for Kiyotaka, are things that I already thought up before I began reading. So to answer your question, no, this doesn't follow the manga at all.

DianaMe: I'll do my best.

Unwritten Story: I'm glad you think so. Most of the time I confuse myself as to what is going on, but as long as you all get it I suppose I don't really have to. Thanks for the review!

Rizeleth: I'll do my best, but my work monopolizes most of my time now.

Sono Kurushiitokinokamidano...: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.

* * *

Kaliea: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to review! 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Madoka sighed as she dropped another folder of papers onto her desk in exhaustion. It had been almost ten hours since they had started searching through all of these documents and still they haven't found out a single thing about Yuizaki Hiyono that they didn't already know. What where they doing wrong?

Gentle hands reached out and softly massaged her temples causing Madoka to slump against the back of her chair in pleasure.

"I love it when you do that…" She murmured.

Kiyotaka chuckled and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Just relax for a bit love. We'll find what we are searching for in time."

"But what if it isn't in time to help Ayumu? What then?"

"Ayumu can take care of himself. Besides, since it concerns that girl's safety I don't really think that there is anything that you, or even I can do that will really help."

Madoka's eyes opened slightly and she looked upside down at her husband. "Why not?"

Kiyotaka smirked a bit. "Because no matter what it is that we find, otouto-chan will have already found it. In fact, I would be greatly disappointed if he hasn't already."

Madoka glared. "Then why are we doing this exactly?"

"Just in case, Madoka-chan. Just in case."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Okay, run this by me one more time. Even though we have no leads about where we are going, we are still leaving Okinawa?"

"Don't be stupid Kousuke," Ryouko said. "Of course we have a lead. Narumi-san wouldn't drag us out in the middle of nowhere without a lead, right Narumi-san?"

"…Wrong."

"EEHHHH??!!" Kousuke, Rio, and Ryouko all gaped in shock as Ayumu stared disinterestedly out of the ferry window.

"What do you mean wrong?" Ryouko said. "You mean you have no idea where we are going?"

"…That is what I said."

"You don't even have a tiny clue!" Kousuke said. "I don't believe this! Why are we following such an idiot!"

"Uhhh! Shut up Kousuke!" Rio said. "You're giving me a headache!"

"Quiet."

Everyone fell immediately silent and turned in surprise to face Eyes who had been silent since they had first departed from Ishigaki six hours before. After several minutes of tense silence Rio finally worked up the courage to speak, despite Eyes' order.

"Do you know where we're going Eyes?"

"….If I was to venture a guess I would say Kyoto."

"Eh?" Kousuke said. "Why Kyoto?"

"Because," Ayumu said. "Nisemono-san spoke with a Kansai accent, and her kimono was custom made at an old shop located in the historic district of Kyoto. I know this because when onee-sama and I went on vacation to Kyoto last spring for the cherry blossom festival she forced me to help her choose a special yukata for Hanami."

"But…What makes you think that it came from the same store? There must be hundreds of shops that sell the same yukata that she wore right?"

"No, the kimono was cut to look as though it held the traditional layers of the older kimonos but it was actually only one robe instead of three. The thickness of the cloth is also a give away, it is not manufactured but hand woven. There is only one shop in the Kansai area that sells kimonos of that design, and that is the Murakami family shop: Gingitsune."

"But I don't understand." Rio said. "Why didn't we just ask her where she was from? Why just go on ahead with our own deductions."

"Simple," Ayumu said. "She would have lied, and then we would have had to waist time deciding what was truth and what was fiction."

"What makes you so certain that she would lie?" Ryouko said. "She seemed like a fairly honest person to me."

"Her eyes," Ayumu said. "I don't know exactly what it is yet, but I know that there is something very wrong with that woman's head."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So…" Hiyono said as she swung her feet back and forth in boredom. "Do you know where we are?"

A light smirk tugged on Kei's lips but he held it back as he shook his head. "I wish that I did though. Unfortunately every time I've been taken anywhere outside of a building I have been unconscious like you."

Hiyono nodded with a small sigh as she slipped out of her chair to head over to the large metal door. She had searched the cell almost thirty times already and had found nothing new after the first, but still she continued to search sure that she had missed something or another. The cell was a typical height with one barred window near the ceiling that had been covered over with thick white paint. The walls were cement but the floor and ceiling were thick planks of wood.

"I think that we must be in a basement," Hiyono said. "But where could we be that a house would have a basement?"

Kei rested the crook of his pointer finger against his jaw and leaned his chair back against the wall in thought.

"More then likely we are in one of the old neighborhoods on the outskirts of a larger city. That's one of the only places that basements are common, unless we're being hid in the basement of a high-rise."

Even as he added the alternative Hiyono was already shaking her head. "No, that couldn't be. High-rise basements don't have wood on the floor or ceiling, they also don't have windows and there would be a lot of piping."

Kei nodded. "I'm impressed. Your skills of deduction are rather sharp."

Hiyono blushed at the compliment but quickly waved it off.

"Not really, I just have a really good friend who is a genius with things like that. I just used what I learned from him."

Before Kei could respond a loud scraping sound reached their ears and a small hole at the bottom of the door slid open allowing their daily meal to be pushed inside. Once it was fully on the other side of the door the opening was slammed shut and bolted loudly.

For several seconds Kei and Hiyono looked at each other before they shrugged and lifted up their plates.

"So," Hiyono said. "Seen any good movies lately?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was almost 8 pm before the group finally arrived at the Kansai Airport where they had left for Okinawa only three days before, and for Kousuke it felt irritatingly like a large step backwards. He scowled at the others as they all waited, with varying degrees of excitement, for the airport's Haruka Express to arrive at the station to take them on their hour-ish long journey to the Kyoto.

"I still can't believe that we're wasting time to travel to Kyoto just because otouto-chan has a 'hunch'."

Ryouko punched Kousuke hard in the side with a tight frown.

"Honestly Kousuke," she said as he doubled over. "You can be so rude."

Kousuke scowled up at the short haired girl through pain filled eyes. "At least I don't go around hitting people Ryouko."

Ryouko's eye twitched dangerously and she raised her clenched fist. "Are you calling me rude Kousuke?"

Before the red head had a chance to answer the Haruka Express roared into the station allowing Kousuke time to heave a much appreciated sigh of relief as the group of five stepped onto the train.

"What are we going to do first Otouto?"

Ayumu rolled his eyes at Rio's question before answering. "Well since it's so late we'll get something to eat and find some rooms for the night. We can start searching tomorrow."

"I've already taken care of both." Eyes said with out looking up from his book. "We check in at the Hotel Granvia as soon as we arrive. After that we have reservations for the Shiokoji Rakusui at ten o'clock. That should give us plenty of time to get settled and cleaned up. We can make tomorrow's plans while we eat."

"Man Rutherford, when did you do all of that?" Kousuke asked. "I never even saw you using your cell phone."

"I didn't," Eyes said. "I used the phone on the plane."

The rest of the trip was carried out in silence that was occasionally broken by Rio and Ryouko making light conversation. Soon their stop was called and they collected their meager baggage before hurrying off, not wanting to be trapped inside. After a short ride up the escalator they arrived on the second floor lobby where their bags were quickly taken by a bellhop who escorted them to the front desk where Eyes checked them in.

"Ah yes, Rutherford-san," Matsuo Aiko, the receptionist said. "Your rooms are all ready for you. Would you like five separate keys?"

Eyes nodded and Aiko smiled in response before scanning the card keys and handing them over.

"I'll buzz someone down to help your friends to their suite while you and the young ladies follow Takanaka-san up to yours."

"Thank-you Matsuo-san," Eyes said in his accented Japanese. "You have been a great help."

Aiko giggled before placing a call for another bellboy to take Ayumu and Kousuke up to their room.

"Wait a minute," Kousuke said. "You mean to say that I have to room with Narumi-otouto while you room with Rio and Ryouko? No way!"

Eyes' features didn't change from their normal impassiveness as he turned to face Kousuke.

"Unless you would rather be sharing a bed with Narumi-otouto I suggest you keep to the arrangements that have been made. Rio and Ryouko will be together while I have my own area."

Kousuke opened his mouth to respond before he thought better of it and just shrugged.

"Whatever. Now where is this guy we're supposed to follow? I wanna eat!"

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Ryouko-chan!" Rio called as she pulled open the bathroom door. "I can't go to a fancy restaurant tonight! I didn't bring anything to wear!"

"Don't worry about it Rio, I didn't bring anything either. Besides, Eyes-san said that we have a private dinning room so it doesn't really matter what we wear right?"

Rio's eyes were wide and watery as she looked up at the taller girl. "Honest?"

"Honest Rio," Ryouko said with a small smile. "Now go put on some clothes. You can't stand there in a towel all night; your hair is dripping onto the floor."

In the common room of the Royal Suite, Eyes paid no attention to the sounds of the girls dressing on the other side of the bedroom door as he continued to read his book titled 'Mozart: Brilliant or Lucky?' until the shuffling and giggling finally stopped and was replaced by the sound of the door opening.

"We're ready Eyes-san," Ryouko said as she and Rio stepped out.

Rio quickly stepped past the taller girl and gave a dramatic spin to show off her tight white jeans and cropped yellow shirt.

"How do I look Eyes?" She asked as her loose hair swung around her shoulders.

Eyes watched her unblinkingly for a moment before he stood to lead them to the hallway door.

"Fine."

Rio turned back to share a quick giggle with Ryouko before she hurried to follow after Eyes. She reached him just as he opened the door to reveal Ayumu and Kousuke whose fist was already posed to announce their presence.

"Well that was fast Rutherford," Kousuke said. "What are you, a mind reader now?"

"You're just loud Asazuki," Ayumu said. "Come on, we have some planning to do."

Rio nodded in agreement as she looped her arm with Eyes' elbow and followed the two of them down the hall with Ryouko right behind them, closing the door once they were all out.

End Chapter Seven

* * *

Kaliea: You have no idea how much research I had to do for this chapter so that I wouldn't sound like an idiot if someone looked it up. I still might, but hopefully it wouldn't be as bad as if I just made something up. Anywho, don't forget to review!

* * *

Review Answers:

Sakimi1014: I'm glad that you're enjoying it. If you ever have any questions or what-not just let me know. I'll answer them as best I can.

rizeleth: I'll do my best. I hope that you liked the chapter.

isumi 'kivic': I can't promise that I'll always update fast but I will promise that I will always update. At least until it's finished that is.

imuzuok: Me too. It's about time Ayumu was really complimented on his abilities I think.

Kracked Klock: I will. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter.

missysillivan: Thank-you. It's always nice to hear that my work is appreciated.

just another baka: Actually, Kae was supposed to be Kei from the beginning, I just messed up. As for the other K-names I come up with, my excuse is that Japanese K-names are really, really cool.

Animejunkie: Thank-you. It's really hard to keep them in character too especially since I know practically nothing about Kiyotaka.

AsianGlitter: Ayumu is actually one of the easier-hard characters I've written. I mean, really, try keeping Itachi, Sasuke, Ryoma, and Aoshi all in character sometime. It's hard work cause even though they all seem like they should be easy major-emo guys and basically the same to write they are all sooo different it isn't even funny.

Jewely2951: I hope so. That is the plan ;)

* * *

Kaliea: Alrighty, Thanks again for the reviews. You all are what keeps me going. Till next time, ja ne! 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

After arriving on the sixth floor the five of them made their way to the Shiokoji Rakusui where Eyes gave his name to the receptionist who led them to one of the private dining rooms.

"Your server will be with you in a moment." She said with a bow. "Please, make yourselves comfortable."

The small group bowed slightly in return as the woman stepped backwards from the room and slid the door closed. Once they were alone the four Blade Children turned their eyes to Ayumu, waiting for him to start.

"It's obvious that we are going to begin our search tomorrow," he said as he reached for the teapot. "What I want to do tonight is decide who is going to be searching which areas."

Unconsciously Ryouko intercepted Ayumu and began filling the cups for the others seeing as it was her duty since she was the youngest girl. Once all of the cups were filled Ryouko poured her own before she settled back to listen to Ayumu.

"I was thinking that it would be best if I went alone since Eyes would be compromised on his own and the rest of you would probably get distracted." Ayumu smirked at Kousuke before continuing. "The groups are going to be Rio with Ryouko and Kousuke with Eyes." He didn't wait for Rio to voice the complaint that he knew she would. "Rio and Ryouko, I want you to check the train and plane itineraries for the past week at the library. See if you can find any repeated names or consecutive trips from Kansai to Okinawa. That should narrow down our prospects a bit. Eyes and Kousuke I want to scan the historic area. See if you can't find anything suspicious." He paused for a second. "It would also be a good idea if you looked into whether or not there are any houses with basements around here. A basement would probably be the least conspicuous place to keep some one prisoner."

"What about you Narumi-otouto?" Rio said. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll stop by Gingitsune to see if I can't learn anything more about Nisemono-san. After that I'll follow any leads I have. If you do manage to find anything useful then call me. If it's something I think is important then I'll give you further instruction." Ayumu paused. "Any questions?"

They each indicated that, no, they didn't before Ayumu nodded. "Good, now you all had better decide what you want because our server will be here in two more minutes."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rio woke the next morning to the sound of the phone. Blindly she reached over and lifted the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Good morning Miss. This is Hanatsu Noriko from the front desk with your wake-up call."

"Arigato Hanatsu-san," She said before she bid good-bye and set the phone back in the cradle. Slowly she sat up, not wanting to wake Ryouko, and stretched out like a cat before she slid to the floor. Slipping her feet into her slippers she slowly padded over to the dresser to choose an outfit before she disappeared into the bathroom.

Once she was gone Eyes slowly opened his ice-blue orbs and sat up. His face was blank as he stared at the section of the bed where Rio had slept, ignoring the form of Ryouko who still lay sound asleep. For some reason he had a very difficult time sleeping the night before. It seemed as though every hour he awoke just to watch Rio sleep. But why? What was it about her that held him captivated? He had never had this problem before. Was he coming down with some sort of illness?

The sound of the shower cutting off brought Eyes back to the present and his gaze drifted over to the bathroom door where he could hear Rio moving. What was it that was drawing him to her?

After several minutes of dressing and fixing her hair Rio finally exited the bathroom only to pause in the doorframe in surprise when she spotted Eyes watching her.

"Oh," She said. "I'm sorry Eyes-kun. Did I wake you?"

Eyes didn't say anything as he continued to watch her, subtly taking in her appearance. Her tan pants hugged her hips perfectly and the sleeveless pink turtleneck she wore brought his attention to her freckled shoulders where her hair once again fell loosely down her arms.

Was she always this beautiful?

"Eyes-kun?" Rio said pulling him from his thoughts once more. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Eyes said. "You didn't wake me."

Rio nodded with a light smile. "I'm glad." She said before she moved over to the bedroom door. "I'm going to head over to the Grace Garden for breakfast."

Eyes nodded, his face emotionless as Rio slipped out the door into the common room of the large Royal Suite he had reserved for the three of them. Once he heard the main door open and close he turned his attention to the closet where he pulled out a black pair of pants and a sleeveless black turtle neck. His lips twitched slightly in amusement as he thought about he and Rio matching before he entered the bathroom just as Ryouko began to stir.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Rio hummed happily as she stepped into the Grace Garden restaurant where she wasted no time in getting in line for the buffet. Once she had her food she walked over to take a seat next to the windows so that she could look down over Kyoto. Her thoughts tumbled endlessly in her mind as she tried to take in everything she could see and separate it into probable areas where Hiyono might be being kept. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't even notice when someone pulled out a chair and sat across from her until he subtly cleared his throat.

Surprised, Rio looked over to see an unfamiliar young man with slicked black hair and deep gray eyes giving her a suave lady-killer smile.

"Good morning, Miss." He said, his voice tinged with a slight American accent. "Mind if I join you?"

Rio blinked in surprise before she shrugged.

"I suppose not," She said. "But I probably won't be here for much longer. I have some friends I need to meet."

"Not a boyfriend I hope." He said with a wink causing her to flush. "My name is David Grisham. And you are?"

"Takeuchi Rio," She said. "It's nice to meet you."

"And you as well Rio-san."

Rio's eyebrow rose at the instant familiarity but let it slide since the man was obviously a foreigner. "So what brings you to Kyoto, Grisham-san?" Rio said. "Business? Pleasure?"

"A little of both I hope," David said with a suggestive wink. "But my 'official' reason for being here is business. My father is the head of a large corporation and he's sent me here to oversee a merger with a smaller company."

"You must be rather old to have a responsibility like that Grisham-san."

"Call me David," He said. "And actually I'm only seventeen. I was homeschooled and started working with my father when I was very young."

Rio looked surprised at learning that he was only a year older than she was herself and said so aloud.

"Well that just makes us a better couple don't you think?"

Rio blinked once again surprised at the forwardness of this young man. Who did he think that he was?

"I'm sorry Grisham-san," Rio said as she pushed out her chair. "But I'm afraid that my friends will be waiting for me."

"David," He said. "And what's the rush? It's not like their lives are at stake."

Rio flinched slightly but forced a laugh.

"Of course not. It's just that…uh…well…My boyfriend!" She said. "Yes, my boyfriend will be rather worried if I'm late. He's kind of protective you know?"

David frowned. "I thought you said you didn't have a boyfriend."

Rio froze and quickly thought back on their conversation. "No…I never said that..."

"Yes you did, I remember." David said causing Rio to fidget uncomfortably.

"There you are Rio," Eyes said as he rested his hand on her shoulder. "I was beginning to worry."

David frowned as he looked Eyes up and down as if judging a challenger. "Who are you?"

Eyes frowned. "My name is Eyes Rutherford," he said in his accented Japanese. "I am Rio's boyfriend."

Rio's mouth opened into a surprised 'o' but fortunately David wasn't paying attention as he slowly stood.

"Is that so?" He asked. "Well then, I suppose I had better be going then." He nodded at them. "It was nice to meet you Takeuchi-san."

"Um, yeah," she said. "You too Grisham-san…"

"Are you alright?" Eyes said once David was gone. "Did he do anything to you?"

"No," Rio said. "I'm fine…" She looked down at her lap with a blush. "Thanks for helping me Eyes-kun."

"Hm." Was all Eyes said in return as he turned to leave. He had only taken a few steps before he looked back over his shoulder expectantly. "Well? Are you coming?"

Rio smiled and quickly stood, leaving her empty plate sitting on the table. "Of course!" she said as she hurried forward to loop her elbow with his.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Once everyone else had eaten the five of them split up into their pre-assigned groups with Eyes and Kousuke buying all-day rail passes so that they could travel through Kyoto as often as they needed while Ryouko and Rio called a taxi to take them to the Kyoto Central Library where they would proceed to break a hundred laws in order to extract the information Ayumu had asked for. Not that they really cared. They were used to things like that by now.

Once the Blade Children had all left Ayumu called a cab as well to head for Gingitsune where he hoped he would be able to receive at least a few answers. Unconsciously his hand drifted to his pocket where his fingers played with the ring and chain that Kuro-san had given him back in Okinawa. After a minute he pulled it out to look at it before making the decision to slip it over his neck just as the taxi pulled up next to the Kimono shop.

After he paid the cabbie, Ayumu slid out of the car, the ring bumping lightly against his chest and made his way inside. He had just pulled open the sliding door when his eyes widened in surprise.

"Mornin' Ayu-kun," Kanoune said with a bright smile. "Nice ta see ya again."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Hiyono stared down her enemy darkly, contemplating. She knew that she had him. There was no way that he would be able to defeat her now. After all, she was the master of this game so she was the one that controlled where it went; no matter what he may have thought. All she needed to do was wait…

"Do you have any three's?" Kei asked only to have Hiyono laugh manically in his face.

"GO FISH!!!"

End Chapter Eight

* * *

Kaliea: The return of Kanoune! But is he on the good side or the bad side? I guess we'll find out huh? Don't forget to review!

* * *

Review Answers:

angeldevil11: I'm glad. I'm trying my best to make it enjoyable.

just another baka: I don't really take much time to look over the spelling/grammar. Usually I just post it so there are probably a lot of little errors like that in all of my stories. I just don't really care much. Thanks for the review!

Animejunkie: I'm glad that you enjoyed it. And actually, the only reason I knew about the Kimono thing was because my mom has a friend who is Japanese and she let me borrow one of her yukatas, and even though yukatas only have one layer (the under kimono not counting) she told me a lot about kimonos when she helped me put it on.

isumi 'kivic': I'm glad that you think I'm keeping Ayumu in character. Actually it's kind of funny cause I find characters like him rather easy to write. I guess it's because stoic characters like him and Eyes and Itachi and Sasuke…yeah, they're pretty typical. It's the Kousuke/Naruto-ish characters that I have problems writing.

imuzuok: And yet as it deepens the continue to get closer.

Sakimi1014: Kei isn't in the anime or manga. He's an oc. In my fic he is the son of Kanzaka, the hunter from the anime that died in the third or fourth to last episode

Jewely2951: I'll do my best.

JennyKim319: No, not all of them. The hotel and stuff like that are but when I get into the 'details' like the shops that Ayumu looks into (Kurokongouseki and Gingitsune) are shops that I'm making up. As well as a few things that I can't tell you without spoiling part of the end.

missysillivan: Don't be jealous. It just takes practice. Believe me, my first stories were terrible! ;)

* * *

Kaliea: Well I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter, short though it may be. Also, thanks so much for all of your reviews and if you think that you may have figured something out then drop me a quick 'I think I've got it'. I'm interested in what you all think is going to happen. Till next time, ja ne! 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

There had only been one moment in his entire life that Ayumu felt the desire to pull a gun on someone. He found it rather ironic that the second moment that in his life that he felt that desire it was towards the same person as before. Unfortunately, he didn't have a gun then and he certainly didn't have one now. He just had to cross his fingers and pray that Kanoune didn't have one either.

"Well, if it isn't Kanoune Hilbert." Ayumu said, his calm tone belying his unease. "Been a while."

"It has Ayu-kun, but was it too long?"

Ayumu shrugged. "Not long enough, but I've come to notice that I don't have much time between crises in my life anymore. I more or less expected you, or someone like you, to show up soon enough."

"As calculating as always, ne, Ayu-kun?"

"It's a way of living."

"Quite literally I'm sure."

The two boys regarded each other in silence for a few moments before an annoyed voice from behind Kanoune reminded the two of where they were.

"It is rather crowded around here, don't you think Ayu-kun? What do you say we head over to that park across the street and have a quick chat."

"On a normal day I'd probably take you up on that, but today I'm kind of busy so I'll have to take a rain-check."

Ayumu had just stepped to the side of Kanoune to walk around him when the older boy's words stopped him dead in his tracks.

"I suppose that if my lady friend were missin' I'd be rather upset myself."

A sudden rush of anger swept through Ayumu but the only outward sign was the slight tightening around the corners of his mouth.

"What do you want Hilbert?"

"Not a thing Ayu-kun," Kanoune said, a friendly smile on his face as he tilted his head slightly in the direction of the park. "Let's have that chat, shall we?"

After a terse nod Ayumu followed Kanoune from the doorframe of the small shop over to a wooden bench just inside the park wall.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rio grunted in annoyance as the words: ACCESS DENIED flashed across the screen once again. She had never had this much trouble breaking a code before but for some reason the security on the Kansai airport's files was far tighter than most. It even beat out the security measures set in place for the American Whitehouse.

Then again, she could be having problems because right now the life of her friend was at stake. When she hacked into the Whitehouse computers she did it to prove to Kousuke that she could.

"Still no luck?" Ryouko asked from the computer terminal on her right. Rio shook her head and Ryouko sighed. "Me neither. It's so strange; their network shouldn't be nearly this strong. It's like it's protecting some sort of international secret or something."

Rio flicked a stray strand of gray hair from her eyes before she spun her chair around to face Ryouko fully.

"Maybe Nisemono-san already hacked them and increased the security."

Ryouko blinked. "Are you saying that because you're frustrated or because you really think it's possible?"

Rio opened her mouth to respond but she paused slightly to think for a moment. "Actually, I was just saying because I was frustrated. But now that I think it over…"

"It is actually a pretty plausible idea?"

Rio nodded and a small smile slowly began to spread across her lips. "If she did then I know what we've been doing wrong. We've been treating the security like a corporate firewall instead of an independent one."

Ryouko nodded. "Yeah, and even though the difference is minor it's just enough to stop us from being able to get through with our usual codes."

Happily, Rio spun her chair around to face the computer again. "This is actually becoming rather interesting."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ayumu's eyes were calculating as he sat down on the bench as far from Kanoune as he could manage without it looking suspicious. He kept his eyes focused out on the field were several kids had started a shot gun game of football. As the black and white ball was passed back and forth between the young players he feigned relaxation before he spoke to Kanoune; his eyes still watching the game.

"You wanted to talk," Ayumu said. "So make it quick. I have a lot of things to do that don't involve entertaining you."

Kanoune chuckled as he rested his arm on the handle of the bench and leaned back to cross his legs.

"You've sure gotten more confident since the last time we encountered each other Ayu-kun." He said before sending Ayumu a sharp sideways glance. "Or maybe, you've just become a better actor."

Determined not to let Kanoune get to him Ayumu gave a nonchalant shrug, his eyes still following the path of the black and white football.

"Either one is a possibility," he said, his voice purposefully calm. "I guess you'll just have to speculate, won't you?"

Kanoune was silent as he watched Ayumu easily avoid looking at him and a small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Time to deal the cards…

"I heard that you're little girlfriend went missn' Ayu-kun. That must be rather hard on you."

The corners of Ayumu's mouth tightened slightly but he stubbornly refused to face Kanoune as he spoke.

"I figured as much when you mentioned that before, Hilbert." He said, ignoring the second half of his inquiry. "Now tell me what you want said or I won't be here long enough to talk to."

"Such impatience," Kanoune said with a sigh. "Very well then. I'll tell ya what I know in exchange for somethin' from you."

"And what is that?"

Despite himself Kanoune couldn't stop the smirk from sliding half way onto his face. "Kanzaka Keishisei."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Kousuke and Eyes rode in silence, each lost in their own thoughts as they held on to the standing strap above their heads. They had decided before hand that they were going to begin their search on the outskirts of Kyoto since Ayumu had told them that the best place to hide the girl would be in a basement. But since the only basements in the city were those belonging to the high-rise apartment complexes their only real option would be the houses outside of Kyoto city.

They had already checked two of the closest districts Nagaokakyo city and Muko City but the amount of time they had had to take to search them well enough was close to four hours per district. Now it was almost four thirty and they were scheduled to meet up with Ayumu and the girls back at the hotel by seven. That only gave them enough time to half search another city district so instead they decided that they would make Ōyamazaki town their next stop since it was barely a quarter of the size of the other two they had already searched through.

When the train slowly rolled to a stop and announced the station name both boys silently released their hand holds and weaved their way through the others that were still waiting for the train to continue. Kousuke was the first of the two to make it to the door way but before he had the chance to step out he found himself jerked back by his collar knocking him off balance just enough so that he missed his chance to leave as the doors slid closed once again.

"Oi!" He said as he turned. "What's the big id—Rutherford? What did you do that for? I thought we were getting off here."

Eyes gazed at the younger boy steadily for a moment before he subtly pointed to the figure of an unfamiliar foreigner with slicked back dark hair.

"You spotted a foreigner. So what? That's not completely unusual you know, and it definitely isn't worth you trying to choke me to death either."

Eyes was silent for a beat before he spoke up. "I met that man this morning. He was…interested, in Rio."

Kousuke blinked. "So let me get this straight…We're going to stalk some pretty-boy foreigner when we should be looking for jou-chan because your jealous that he hit on _Rio_? Geez, who cares? Besides, it's only Rio."

Eyes shot a quick glare at the other boy making Kousuke raise his hands slightly to call truce. To be honest Eyes himself wasn't even completely sure what had possessed him to suddenly decide to follow this strange boy but whatever it was he knew that it wasn't because of jealousy.

Well, not completely…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Madoka felt her heart skip several beats as she gazed down at the information she and her husband had complied since they had started their research three days before. Trying to swallow down the heavy lump in her throat she looked up at Kiyotaka with fearful, worried eyes.

"Kiyotaka…this…this can't be right…"

Kiyotaka nodded slowly, his face stern. "I'm afraid that it is Madoka. Every word."

"But what are we going to do? We don't know for certain that Ayumu knows anything about this, and if he doesn't we have no way of knowing how to get it to him. We don't even know where he is!"

"Calm down Madoka," Kiyotaka said, his voice stern. "We'll find him and the others before anything happens, alright?"

Madoka bit her lip as she looked up at her husband with apprehension. "But how do you know that? How can you know that?"

"I know it Madoka. Trust me. We'll find Ayumu in time. I promise."

Madoka just nodded before she turned back to the file with a heavy sigh.

End Chapter Nine

* * *

Kaliea: Whew! Finally! Sorry it took so long ya'll. I've been really busy. And yes, I did say 'ya'll'. What can I say? I have some serious southern roots. Don't forget to review!

* * *

Review Answers: 

just another baka:You and me both sister…

Animejunkie:Jealous? Of what?

Arisa Horigome: I'm glad that you liked it. I loved adding in the Eyes Rio stuff too. They're one of my favorite couples.

grim reaper sakura: Nope, just Hiyono being Hiyono :)

JennyKim319: As safe as a kidnapped girl locked in a basement with a total stranger can be anyway. As for the way I spell 'Kanoune' (shrugs) that's the way it sounds to me when I watch the Anime. In Japanese a lot of things are spelled with extra vowels, and when I hear the word 'Kanoune' spoken it sounds like Kan-OWN to me which would be written as 'Kanoune' in Japanese. It's really all just a matter of preference. It can be spelled either way.

Sakimi1014: I'll do my best.

missysillivan: I'm glad. I actually wasn't going to add it but I felt that the chapter wasn't quite complete and since we haven't heard from Hiyono in a while I thought I should let ya'll know that she's still alive and kickin'! Or in this case, still alive and 'fishin'. Yes I know, bad pun.

* * *

Kaliea: Well thanks to all of my reviewers! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Also I should let you know that I'm pretty sure we're getting close to the end. I won't know for a few more chapters but I'm thinking that there's only going to be about five or so more. Of course the way it keeps changing in my mind there could be thirty! Don't forget to review! 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Kousuke was sure that following that foreigner would be a waste of time but Eyes had been resolute in his decision giving the red head no choice but to tag along. Well technically speaking he could just leave but he would rather not have to face Rio's anger if he came back to the hotel alone.

That would be very scary.

Kousuke was shaken from his thoughts when a hypnotic voice came from the speakers announcing that they were arriving at Kasagi Station. Out of the corner of his eye Kousuke noticed that the foreigner had shouldered the strap of his bag and was now standing; bracing himself with one of the overhanging straps. Absently he checked his watch, wincing a bit at what he saw before he turned back towards the window.

Curious, Kousuke glanced down at his own watch. Five forty-five. Man. They were going to be late. Slowly the train rolled to a stop and rested there for several seconds before the automatic doors slid open, allowing passengers to both leave and boars. Eyes and Kousuke were quick to follow after the foreigner but soon lost sight of him amidst the crowd. Kousuke scowled at Eyes.

"Great. We came out all this way just to loose him. What are we going to tell Otouto and the others? 'Sorry we couldn't find jou-chan, Rutherford was off chasing man-skirts'?"

Eyes glared at Kousuke from the corner of his eye but said nothing as he continued to scan the small station. Suddenly he paused, his eyes widening only a fraction before he casually pointed to the left.

"There."

"Huh?" Kousuke said as he swung around to follow Eyes' finger. "I don't see him."

"Not 'him'." Eyes corrected. "'Her'."

Sparing a quick annoyed glance at Rutherford, Kousuke once again tried to trace his line of sight only to start when he spotted a familiar head of honey-brown hair.

"Jou-chan!" He would have started for her if Eyes hadn't suddenly clamped down on his arm, preventing him from moving anywhere. "What's the big idea Rutherford?"

"Look again Kousuke." Eyes said. "That is not Yuizaki Hiyono-san."

Kousuke looked again, this time more carefully. "Oh, but…she still looks familiar right?"

"Yes," Eyes said. "I believe that she is Nisemono Mei. The woman that Narumi-otouto and Rio both met in Okinawa."

"But how can you be sure? You never met her yourself."

"Rio told me later that she looked a bit like Yuizaki Hiyono-san. Dressed formally I'm sure it would be easy to overlook the similarities as a coincidence, but dressed as she is now there is no mistake. She could easily pass for Hiyono-san's sister."

Kousuke nodded slowly in understanding. "I see. So then…what do we do now?"

"First we call Rio and the others. And second." He looked Kousuke strait in the eye. "We follow her. Discreetly."

"Right."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright," Ryouko said. "I'm in. What about you Rio."

"The page is loading now. What a waste of time."

"True but if we find what we want then it will at least be worth it right?"

Rio shrugged. "If you say so but there is still a big possibility that we won't find anything."

"I doubt that," Ryouko said. "Narumi-san wouldn't send us looking here if he wasn't ninety-percent sure we would strike something positive."

Rio was about to answer when she stumbled across two names that seemed to be repeated in an odd manor.

"Look at this," She said, pointing to her screen. "It shows Nisemono-san arriving in Okinawa almost twice every month."

"So?" Ryouko said, her eyes still on her own screen. "What's so strange about that? Maybe she's sent on a lot of business trips."

"What's so strange is that there is never any record of her _leaving_ Okinawa. But over here on departures it shows a woman by the name of Morishino Amariko leaving Okinawa almost twice every month but this time there is no record of her ever _arriving_."

Ryouko spun her chair around in surprise. "That is weird…Do you think that they travel by boat too?"

Rio nodded slowly. "It is possible I guess but if you look at the coinciding dates…" Ryouko watched as Rio pointed out the arrival and departure times of both women. "Morishino-san always leaves Okinawa with in a week or so after Nisemono-san arrives and then Nisemono-san suddenly arrives back in Okinawa a week or two later. What does that tell you?"

"That they're probably really wealthy?"

Rio blinked. "Well, yeah, that too."

Ryouko was quiet for a minute before she pulled out her cell phone. "I'm going to call Narumi-san.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kanoune and Ayumu didn't exchange any words of farewell before they when their separate ways which wasn't wholly unexpected; neither of the boys got along well with the other. As he watched Kanoune's back disappear through the stone gate of the park Ayumu still didn't quite know what to make of what he had been told. However he was able to recognize that the puzzle was almost completed. Now all he needed were the final missing pieces.

The familiar chime of his cell phone cut through his thoughts and he quickly flipped it open.

"Yo."

"Narumi-san?"

"Aa. What have you learned?"

On the other side of the line Ryouko gave an irritated huff but decided to let it go for the time being.

"We've found two suspicious people, one is Nisemono Mei-san from Okinawa and another is a woman by the name of Morishino Amariko-san. According to the reports Nisemono-san flies into Okinawa every few weeks but never leaves while Morishino-san—."

"Flies out but never flies in." Ayumu smirked. "It seems the melody is nearing its final notes."

Before Ryouko had a chance to question him Ayumu spoke up again.

"I'm getting a call from Asazuki." Without saying anything else he pressed the button that would let him switch over to call waiting. "Where are you?"

On the other end Kousuke blinked in surprise.

"Uh…we're in Kasagi…"

Ayumu's smirk widened ever so slightly. "The melody of logic always plays the notes of truth."

"Wha—?"

Without giving him the chance to finish Ayumu quickly switched back to Ryouko.

"Takamachi. Take the next train to Kasagi. We're meeting Rutherford."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well?" Rio asked, swerving in her chair to face Ryouko head on. "What did he say?"

"He told us to take the train to Kasagi."

"Well," Rio said. "I guess that means he found her."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The door at the top of the basement stairs flew open with a 'bang' causing Hiyono to jump in surprise; scattering the cards in her hands like leaves in the wind. The sound of heavy stomps quickly followed the resounding bang of the door and both prisoners shared a bemused look as a woman around her mid to late twenties came into view.

Her long honey brown hair was pulled back into a high pony tail that bobbed as she continued to stomp down the wooden stair case. She was tall, about 5'8", but her tight blue jeans made her appear even taller. She also had on a tight pink turtle neck that was rolled up to her elbows showing the toned muscles of her arms.

Hiyono concluded that the woman would be rather beautiful if her blue eyes weren't made of ice and the anger lines on her face were gone. However her thoughts were cut short when the woman, who was now in front of her, suddenly struck out with the back of her hand catching Hiyono strong enough on her right cheek to send her falling hard to the floor. She hit the floor with a yelp and brought her hands up to shield her face as the woman pulled back for another blow.

"How dare you!" The woman shrieked. "I go through the trouble to have us reunited and you have to bring that brat here to ruin everything! You told him something didn't you, you little whore!"

"That's enough!" Kei said, his voice sharp as he pulled Hiyono into his arms to protect her from the towering woman threatening her. "I don't know who you are or what is going on, but Hiyono-chan is innocent! She's been here for days without any contact with anyone!"

For a moment the woman's crazed blue eyes fell on Kei as though she would suddenly strike at him too before the lines on her face softened and she dropped to her knees beside the two of them.

"Of course," She whispered, her voice almost loving. "Of course, I'm sorry my darling. I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

Hiyono flinched as the woman reached out for her causing Kei to instinctively shield her from the strange woman's touch. Crazed anger flashed through the woman's eyes again but before she had the chance to do or say anything more Kei had addressed her, his voice once again sharp and firm.

"Who are you?" Kei demanded. "What are you doing down here?"

She blinked in surprise as her eyes turned to face Kei, an honest confusion held in their deep blue depths.

"My dear," she said. "Have you forgotten me so soon? Has it been so long, my love, that you would forget even my very face?"

Kei was uncomfortable as the woman inched closer, tears beginning to rim the bottoms of her eyes. Slowly, so as not to set her off, he slid back; Hiyono still held protectively in his arms.

"I don't know you."

The tears instantly dried and the woman stood with a disdainful sniff.

"How callous of you Kei." She said. "You steal my innocence and then refuse to recall our time together? How could you be so cold; especially when the personification of our love is held so tightly in your arms?"

Kei's brow furrowed in confusion. Personification? Love? Innocence? He wasn't so naïve that he couldn't begin to guess what it was that this woman was saying, he was a doctor after all, but what she was hinting at was impossible. He had never made love to anyone aside from his own beloved wife and yet this woman claimed that he had not only taken her but had produced a child?

And for Hiyono to be that child was completely absurd. She was sixteen years old! For him to have had Hiyono with this strange woman it would have been almost two decades ago and yet she didn't look old enough to have even been fifteen at that time…

Suddenly he stiffened and his eyes grew wide in shock as his jaw grew slack.

"Amariko…"

Amariko smirked. "Glad to see I make an impression. I had hoped that night wouldn't be so easily forgotten."

Kei just continued to stare in complete horror as Hiyono gently massaged her swollen cheek with her palm. Just what exactly was going on?

* * *

Kaliea: Well, here's the next chapter. Have any of you figured it out yet? Probably, I practically just told you what is happening. If any of you want to guess then drop me a review.

* * *

Review Answers:

animegirl1o1: I'm glad that you enjoyed the last chapter. I hope that this one lived up to your expectations.

rizeleth: That's probably all the part Kanoune is going to play though (aside from the flashback Ayumu has about their conversation) but what he said will be really important. Thanks for the review!

just another baka: Don't think to hard. You might give yourself nightmares ;P

Animejunkie: Oh, well in that case: Thank-you! I'm glad you think that my writing is worthy of being jealous over!

JennyKim319: Nope. Like I told rizeleth, that's probably all the part Kanoune is going to play (again, aside from the later flashback) but you never know. Maybe he'll swoop in at the last minute or something. Thanks for the review!

* * *

Kaliea: Thanks for your reviews! I really do love to get them. Till next time, ja ne!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"So how do you know that Yuizaki-san is in Kasagi, Narumi-san?" Ryouko said. "Did Eyes-san or Kousuke see her?"

"No," Ayumu said as he surfed through the internet using his cell phone.

"Well then how do you know that we're going to the right place?"

Ayumu didn't look up as he responded.

"Hiyono was born there sixteen years ago as the daughter of Morishino Amariko and Kanzaka Keiichi, better known as 'Kei'. Shortly after her birth she was adopted by Yuizaki Natsuke and Sakira-san. They then relocated to Tokyo where Hiyono's adoptive father was an accountant and her mother a seamstress at a small fashion agency. About two years ago her parents were killed in an accident and she was going to be put up as a ward of the State."

Ryouko and Rio exchanged surprised glances, almost not noticing when the train rolled to a stop at the Yawata City station. The onslaught of passengers coming and going was too loud for Ayumu to continue until the doors had closed and the train had begun moving once again.

"So, if Hiyono was a ward of the state, then what was she doing in Osaka?" Rio asked. "Wouldn't she stay in Tokyo?"

"She would have," Ayumu said. "If someone hadn't stepped forward and agreed to become her guardian."

"Who was that?" Ryouko said. "Do we know them?"

"I'll get to that." Ayumu said. "Let me finish first. I'm fairly certain that, while her new guardian knew that Hiyono had been adopted he hadn't bothered to look into who her birth parents were past their names and faces. If he had looked further he would have found out that Morishino and Kanzaka were actually brother and sister. Or to be more exact, step-brother and sister."

The looks on the girls' faces were identical as they stared at Ayumu in utter disgust.

"Kanzaka knocked up his _sister_!" Rio said. "What a freak!"

Ayumu rolled his eyes and snapped his cell phone closed so that he could face the girls head on.

"He didn't do it on purpose," Ayumu said. "Morishino tricked him. She got him drunk a few days after she turned fifteen. After he found out what happened Kanzaka was understandably afraid. He left town and went abroad for a few years to study medicine. After he got back from America he took a job in Okinawa working as the private care provider for Kuro Musaishi's wife. He later married Kuro Shiori and then was supposedly murdered a short time after."

"What do you mean by 'supposedly', Otouto?" Rio said. "Wasn't there evidence?"

"Of course there was," Ayumu said. "But evidence can be faked just as easily as murder."

"So then…he isn't dead?"

Ayumu looked away from the girls to watch the scenery rush past the window. His deep brown eyes were distant and serious as he ran over the facts again and again in his mind. He was eighty-two percent certain that he was right and with the few missing pieces finally filled in he would have the case solved. All he had to do now was find those missing pieces.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Why are you doing this Amariko?" Kei said. "Haven't you done enough already?"

Amariko scoffed as she paced across the basement floor.

"Do you have any idea what I've gone through in the last fifteen years Kei? Do you have any idea how it would feel to be abandoned by the man you love most and then to have your _child_ taken away from you by it's own grandfather!" Amariko viciously flicked a stray strand of honey hair over her shoulder before she rounded on Kei again. In his arms Hiyono flinched and pushed closer; afraid of Amariko's reaction.

"Do you see! My own daughter is afraid of me! She hates me and it's all your fault!" Amariko's breathing was sharp and shallow as she stared down at the two of them with wide crazed eyes.

"But that's over." She said, suddenly calm again. "You're with me now, my own true family. You'll never be taken from me again."

"You can't keep us here Amariko." Kei said, his voice calm and reasoning. "Kidnapping is a serious crime."

A small smile played at the corner of Amariko's mouth as she folded her hands behind her back. "Well Kei dear, last I checked, you weren't a child. As for Hiyono, her so-called 'parents' are dead and her 'guardian' has been absent from her life for months. Who would blame me for rescuing her from her loneliness and pain?"

Finally having enough Hiyono pushed herself from Kei's arms and stood, her face set in a hard scowl.

"I don't know who you think you are but you are **not** my mother! I don't care if you _did_ give birth to me!" Hiyono stomped her foot hard. "And another thing! I wasn't lonely _or_ in pain! I had friends and Kiyotaka-san calls me every weekend to make sure that I'm doing alright! I love my life! And you know what? I love my life even more without _you_ in it!"

The last thing Hiyono remembered before blackness took her was watching Kei leap forward to stop Amariko from slamming her head into the basement wall.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Kousuke hovered as close as he dared to the house that he had seen the jou-chan-look-alike enter with that foreigner. Since the short conversation he had had with Narumi-otouto, Rutherford had suggested (more like ordered) him to play look-out and make sure that if either the jou-chan-look-alike or the foreigner left that they would be followed.

Personally he would rather have had Rutherford loiter around the street like a moron while he went to the train station to wait for the others but, like Eyes reminded him, it would be a lot less suspicious for a normal kid to hang around a street then a famous pianist.

He sighed in irritation as he leaned back against a light pole and shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. He really wished that the guys would hurry up. It had already been six hours since he and Rutherford had stopped for lunch and his stomach had been growling for half that. Why couldn't they just be here already so that they could grab Jou-chan and go home?

A sudden shadow broke the light that shown from the side window and Kousuke silently slid into the bushes below just in time to hear a door slam in the background. Pressing as closely as he could, Kousuke stretched out his sense of hearing to its max and quieted his breathing as best he could.

"Don't you realize that you could have killed her?" A male voice (probably the foreigner) said. "That wall was made of concrete!"

Several muted sniffles reached his ears and Kousuke assumed that it was the jou-chan-look-alike crying somewhere in the room.

"I-I don't know what happened," she said. "One minute I was stepping off the train from Kyoto City and the next I was in the basement and that girl was bleeding and that man was screaming and-and—Oh what did she do!"

The foreigner sighed, the sound of footsteps signaling he had moved over to be beside the woman.

"Look, you've really got to control this Mei. Next time she really could kill that girl. It's only lucky for us that her dad is a doctor."

"Why is she so obsessed about keeping them here? And to even use my father that way…while he was on his death-bed no less!"

"I don't know sis," the foreigner said. "All I know is that after this job is done I want you to do everything in your power to get rid of her."

"I-I've tried David, goodness knows I have, but she follows me everywhere! She even found me in Okinawa!"

David was quiet for several minutes before the sound of springs moving reached Kousuke's ears.

"Get to bed Mei, today has been pretty hard on you."

"Yeah…" Mei said. "Yeah, I'll do that. Goodnight little brother."

Several more minutes of silence passed as the sound of Mei's footsteps drifted off deeper into the house. Finally, David let out a sigh and the sound of springs shifting drifted outside again.

"All this time," David whispered. "And she still doesn't know…"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As the plane began to make its final decent the speaker cracked on and the pilot's voice drifted out requesting that they prepare for landing. Madoka clenched her eyes shut tightly as her stomach gave a sickening lurch. She really hated flying…

She jumped slightly as the feel of Kiyotaka's hand pulled her from her thoughts. Her eyes opened just enough to look over at him before she completely melted at the sight of his soft smile.

"Don't worry Madoka," Kiyotaka said. "Everything will be fine." He kissed the back of her hand lightly. "I promise. Just think of something else alright?"

"Something else…" Madoka muttered. "I can do that…"

The plane jumped causing Madoka to moan softly and press further back into her seat.

'It's all for Ayumu,' She thought. 'Just remember, he needs your help. Wouldn't you like to see his face when you manage to solve a case first?'

Watching his wife Kiyotaka couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he gently squeezed her hand before settling back for the final patch of the landing.

"Hold on little brother," he whispered. "I'm on my way…"

End Chapter Eleven

* * *

Kaliea: So what do you think? Have you figured it out yet? Let me know if you think you have!

* * *

Review Answers:

Twilight1: Thank-you. I really appreciate that.

animegirl1214: I'll do my best.

Animejunkie: Esper…?...Anyway, thanks for the review!

rizeleth: Here's a large chunk of what's going on but it still isn't everything. If you figure it out let me know kay?

missysillivan: Yep, only a few chapters left. Two or three at the most I think.

* * *

Kaliea: Thanks for your reviews guys, and hey! I'm only five away from a hundred! Let's see if we can't break past that for this chapter. Don't let me down! Till next time, ja ne!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

When the train finally rolled into the Kasagi station the sun had long since set. Rio and Ryouko stood and stretched loudly before they followed Ayumu and the small trickle of remaining passengers onto the platform. They had spent the last half an hour of their trip discussing the conversation that Kousuke had relayed to them over the phone. The two girls had been immensely puzzled but Ayumu looked as though everything was finally falling into place.

"I still don't understand how Nisemono-san got here from Okinawa, Narumi-san," Ryouko said. "There was no record of her flying out and there is no way that a boat would have been able to get her here this fast; it's only been two days since we last saw her."

"Think about it a bit more and you'll understand. Until then, I have someone I need to meet."

"Meet?" Ryouko glanced down at Rio in confusion. "Who is he talking about?"

Rio rolled her eyes. "Think about it a bit more and you'll understand."

Ryouko scowled. "You don't understand what he was saying about Nisemono-san either so don't try and patronize me."

"If you two are going to argue at least do it quietly." Ayumu said as he glanced back at them with a hard glare. "I would rather keep the limited amount of surprise that we still have left."

"That would be a wise course of action." Eyes said as he stepped out of the shadows making the girls jump. "Knowing Kousuke it would be unusual were he left undiscovered."

Ryouko nodded in agreement. "So true."

The rest of the walk to Nisemono Mei's house was carried out in silence as each of the teens went over the facts in their minds. Irritation was forefront on Ryouko's as she glared at Ayumu from the corner of her eyes. She already knew that the young genius had already figured out what had happened so it annoyed her to no end that he was refusing to tell the rest of them anything. Did he seriously expect them to just wander around in the dark? Or maybe he thought that they would have figured it out as well. No. If there was one thing that Ryouko knew about Narumi-san it was that the younger boy was very confident in his abilities to stump everyone else around him.

Which meant he was being irritating on purpose.

"Is this it?" Rio whispered, startling Ryouko from her thoughts. "Where's Kousuke?"

"It took you guys long enough." Kousuke's voice drifted out from beneath the window and, straining their eyes, the rest of the group managed to just make him out in the darkness. "Nisemono went to bed in another room but her little brother is sleeping in the living room on the couch. I guess that means there's only one bedroom."

"If that is the case then they really are holding Yuizaki-san in the basement," Ryouko said. "Good deduction Narumi-san."

Ayumu shrugged.

"What's the plan?" Rio asked and the others turned to face her. "How are we going to get her out?"

Ayumu's mouth twitched a bit as though threatening a smirk. "You are going to be bait."

The blade children blinked in surprise before they turned to Rio in shock as she spoke up.

"Okay," She said. "Why me though?"

"Because Nisemono has a little brother by the name of David Grisham, which is the name that her father took on after he married David's American mother."

There was silence for a moment before Ryouko shook her head. "How did you learn all of this stuff?"

"Internet."

Wanting this little skit to be as real as possible Ayumu asked Rio to come with him for a bit to get ready, mostly to be out of Rutherford's sight when he had to slap her hard enough to leave a mark; he really didn't want to die at the moment. Once Rio was properly roughed up Ayumu went back to get the others so that they could hide while Rio worked her magic.

Silence filled the street as the four of them waited for Rio to come stumbling out of the shadows. Ayumu felt Eyes flinch beside him as the smaller girl passed under a street lamp showing off her bright red cheek and tear filled eyes.

"You hit her." Rutherford's voice was low and even but to the other three it sounded more terrifying then if he had screamed it.

"It isn't to bad Rutherford," Kousuke said. "And besides, there's no way Narumi-otouto would have done it without Rio's permission, right Ryouko."

Ryouko just nodded, opting instead to watch as Rio trudged up to David's front door where she gave the wood a timid knock.

Several minutes passed before the light in the entryway snapped on and the door was opened.

"Takeuchi-san?" David said, his voice obviously surprised. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"D-David-san, I—m-my boyfriend he-he—!" David quickly moved forward to pull Rio into a tight hug as she burst into tears. From the bushes the others heard him whispering words of comfort into Rio's ear as he escorted her into his house.

"Wow," Ryouko said. "She's good."

Eyes frowned at her making Ryouko raise her hands in defense. Before he could speak Ayumu motioned for them to all move towards the bushes beneath the living room window where Kousuke had been hiding earlier.

"I-I'm sorry to bother you like this," Rio said. "B-but I didn't know where else to go…"

"Hey, don't worry about it Rio-chan," David said. "I'm glad you came. Wait for a minute and I'll be back with some ice for you."

The sound of foot steps was soon followed by Rio appearing at the window. Looking down into the bushes she quickly mouthed at them to 'get going'. Nodding in understanding Ayumu turned to the others as Rio once again disappeared from sight.

"We need to split up to look for an entrance to the basement," Ayumu whispered. "There should be more then just the one inside."

"And if there isn't?" Kousuke said.

"We'll worry about that when the time comes," Ayumu said. "Now hurry, we don't want to get caught."

The four of them split up, each taking a side of the house to search. As quietly as possible Ayumu crawled along the side of the building pushing away the brush that had grown up along the side of the house. As expected he soon uncovered a small window that had been boarded up from the outside.

Reaching into his pocked he pulled out a small flat head screwdriver that he quickly used to pry the nails from their pocket in the wood. The scrape of wood on metal caused a small squeal and Ayumu flinched as he paused for a moment. Once he was sure that he was unheard he continued on with his work, this time pulling a small set of pliers out to remove the nails completely.

"Who's there?" A male voice asked from behind the wood. "What do you want?"

"Kanzaka Kei?" Ayumu said. "Is that you?"

There was a moment of silence before the man responded. "Yes, who are you?"

"My name is Narumi Ayumu. You probably don't—."

"Ah, Narumi-san," Kei said. "I've heard a great deal of you from Hiyono-chan."

Brushing off his curiosity of 'what kind of things' Ayumu spoke up again.

"Is Hiyono there with you?"

"She is," Kei said. "But I'm afraid that she isn't very well. She has a concussion."

Ayumu's heart instantly jumped to his throat and he doubled his efforts to remove the board from the small window.

"What happened!" Ayumu said. "Is she alright?"

"She'll be fine. Fortunately the damage is minor so she should be recovered by morning, however it would help a great deal if we were able to be removed from this room."

Ayumu nodded, despite knowing he couldn't yet be seen. "I almost have the wood removed. You'll be out in no time."

"Kei…?"

Ayumu froze.

"Kei is…is that Narumi-san?"

"That's right Hiyono. He's come to get us out."

It was at that moment that Ayumu managed to pull the board from it's place in front of the window revealing Hiyono who was being held in Kei's arms just below.

"Ayumu…" Hiyono said with a small smile. "You came."

"Of course I did you stupid girl." Ayumu said. "School's not the same without you."

Her smile deepening Hiyono reached up for Ayumu's hand as he reached down to her.

"Let's get you home."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Voices…Whose are they? They are…familiar.

Is it him?

I hate him. He is stealing her from me. Just like all of the others…

She's mine!

_Mine_!

_**Mine**_!!

(**BANG**!)

XXXXXXXXXXX

The shot was so sudden that for a moment Ayumu wasn't even sure what happened until the pain set in. His hand quickly reached up to grab his shoulder as he collapsed to the ground.

"AYUMU!"

He had been shot.

End Chapter Twelve

* * *

Kaliea: Sorry for the long wait you guys. I've been really busy lately. I hope it was worth it!

* * *

Review Answers:

TwighlightAlchemist: That's alright, weird is good. I'm glad you enjoy it.

just another baka: Hm…who's to know?

Setsuna: I'll do my best.

satomika: Plenty of fluff to come I assure you. However we have to go through the bad to get to the good.

Twilight1: I'm glad.

animegirl1214: Thank-you. I'll do my best.

therein after: Thanks, I really do appreciate that.

just another baka: NO! It was the sound of a couch! They were talking on the couch before he sent her to her room to sleep! He is not, I repeat NOT, sleeping with his sister! Not that that's cleared up, thanks for the review ;)

missysillivan: I'm glad you enjoy it.

jacksparrow589: Thank-you very much. It's always nice to hear that I'm doing the characters justice.

JennyKim319: Thank-you, so do I.

jkminimoon: I'm glad I was able to help you feel better.

Twilight1: Um…no. She isn't related to Ayumu at all because Kiyotaka didn't adopt her, he's just her guardian.

just another baka: I'm slightly more then just a bit crazy?

grim reaper sakura: That's alright, a little confusion never hurt anyone.

animegirl1214: Well…they found her. Is that soon enough?

* * *

Kaliea: Thanks for your reviews guys. Drop me another kay? And till next time, ja ne!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

The pain was intense but not overwhelming; although it was bad enough for him to make a mental reminder to avoid being shot in the future. The distinct click of the gun being prepped was all Ayumu needed to propel himself into action. Despite not being the most athletic of people he made sure to keep himself in well enough shape to function to the best of his necessary abilities. Pulling back from the window he rolled swiftly to his right, using the momentum of his action to bring himself up into a crouch; his hand still tightly grasping his wounded left shoulder. Fortunately the bullet had only grazed his arm so he wasn't in any real danger. At least not from his wound.

Ayumu's eyes were focused entirely on his attacker, who he quickly identified as the same woman he had met in Okinawa, Nisemono Mei. Her eyes were narrowed into two snakelike slits as she pointed the gun steadily at the center of the boy's forehead. Ayumu didn't so much as flinch as he stared down the woman before him, seemingly oblivious to the threatening object focused solely on him.

"Well, I can't say that I am exactly surprised to see you here Narumi. From what I understand from my late step-father you always were rather annoying when involved in matters that aren't your own."

"I suppose I just have an overly curious disposition Morishino Amariko-san."

Mei's eyebrow twitched. "So you've learned the truth as well. You really are all that I've heard."

"I doubt that," Ayumu said. "I'm just lucky."

"What are you up to Narumi-san? I really am curious to know."

Ayumu's eyebrow rose slightly. "Are you insulting my intelligence?"

"Perhaps. Or perhaps I'm just stalling."

"And why exactly would you want to do that?"

Mei smirked. "I'm waiting for your friends of course. What's a party without all of the guests?"

Seemingly defeated, the blade children all stood up from their hiding places and slowly walked over to where Ayumu was still crouching on the ground.

"Well it seems all of the cards are now in your favor Morishino-san. Or at least, that is how it appears."

"Is that so?"

Ayumu just shrugged.

For a moment a tense silence fell over the group as Ayumu and Amariko stared each other down. Finally Amariko's lips twitched up into a smirk making the Blade Children tense in anticipation for a fight.

"I'm calling your bluff, Narumi," She said as she squeezed the trigger. Ayumu didn't even bother to move as the sound of a gunshot again rang through the night air.

Ryouko buried her face in her hands only to jerk her head up again when not Ayumu, but Amariko let out a pain filled cry. The gun fell from her grip to land harmlessly on the ground as she clutched her hand close to her stomach, hateful eyes focused solely on Ayumu. His hand still pressed against his wounded shoulder, he stood with a great amount of grace, his face the picture of a triumphant general; stern but proud.

"It looks as though you lost that bet, Morishino-san. Care to place another?"

Amariko just hissed in anger but the effect was lost by the pale green color of her skin as she slowly sank to her knees, still cradling her hand.

"Who did that?"

"Hello Morishino-Kanzaka." Came a distinct southern drawl. "Fancy meet'n you here."

Amariko's head whipped to the side just in time to watch Kanoune step out of the shadows and into the lighted ring surrounding her house.

"Kanoune Hilbert." She said. "I should have known you would be involved. How did you find me?"

"It was easy enough," Kanoune said. "All I had to do was follow Ayu-kun."

"It was Hilbert that informed me of your…interesting predicament. Just for future reference, you might want to choose the people you double-cross a little more carefully next time."

"What are you guys talking about?" Kousuke demanded. "And what are _you_ doing here Kanoune? Come to stab us in the back this time?"

"Don't flatter yerself, Kou-chan. I'm just here to settle a business arrangement."

"What business arrangement?" Ryouko asked.

"Morishino was the one that got Kanoune to 'switch sides'. Apparently she had promised the four of you immunity in exchange for his help in erasing other known Blade Children."

"Instead she used me to single you out before betraying your position to her father Kanzaka."

"What can I say?" Amariko said as she struggled against her bonds. "Mei has always been quite the goody-goody. She would do whatever our dear step-daddy told her to."

"Seems like the two of you have more in common then I first thought," Ayumu said.

Amariko's face twisted into one of pure loathing as she lunged at Ayumu only to be jerked back when Kousuke and Eyes grabbed onto her arms.

"I'm nothing like her!" She howled. "She's weak! Weak do you hear me? Always wanting peace! Comfort! Hiding our affection for the one man I thought would never betray me!" Tears poured from Amariko's eyes as she thrashed around attempting to escape from her captors. "She tried to stop me from killing that woman you know. That's how weak she really is! She's not willing to do what it takes! She's weak! Disgusting! I **hate** _her_!"

The sound of police sirens drifted through the air as Ayumu shook his head.

"It's sad really, to know that there are people out there that can hate a part of themselves so completely." Turning away from Amariko, Ayumu faced the window of the house. "Oi, Rio. You there?"

The front door creaked as it opened to reveal Rio in the doorway, a heavy-duty airgun pressed against the small of David's back as she led him out.

"Piece of cake," She said before she moved aside and let Kei walk out, his daughter held protectively in his arms.

Ayumu tensed as he saw Hiyono turn to face him with her eyes cloudy and her forehead badly bruised. Suddenly she smiled; a small, gentle smile that was full of pride.

"I knew you'd come for me," She said, her voice quiet for once.

Ayumu did his best to feign indifference as he shrugged. "I guess I just can't resist a mystery."

When she first met him Hiyono would have probably taken offence to those words, but after knowing him for the better part of a year it was easy for her to see beneath his stone-like exterior to see the real him buried inside. Her smile deepened and her eyes softened as they slowly slipped closed.

"My hero…" Hiyono managed to whisper before she finally lost consciousness.

To say Ayumu was worried when he saw Hiyono fall completely limp would be a vast understatement. He was at her side almost faster then the blade children could track and still wasn't satisfied that she was fine when the police cars and an ambulance finally pulled up next to the house. By that time both Amariko and David were secured with rope that Rio had brought up from the basement and both guns were safely hidden from view.

"Ayumu!"

Ayumu blinked at the familiar voice and turned to see if his guess was right when he found himself being tackled by his worried sister-in-law.

"Hello, Madoka," Ayumu said, his words muffled against her shoulder as he tried to pry himself away from her smothering grip.

"You stupid—!" Madoka broke off with a sob. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? You could have _died_!"

"Not likely," Ayumu said as he finally managed to break away from her grip. "I'm insanely lucky you know."

Madoka's only response was to smack him hard on the arm.

"Congratulations Ayumu. You managed to solve a case even I didn't see. You truly are a marvel."

"Aniki. It's about time you got back. I hope Madoka hit you good for everything you put her though."

Kiyotaka's eyebrow rose slightly. "What about you? I put you through a lot as well."

"I guess I should be mad but…some good things came of it too…" His brother didn't comment on how Ayumu's eyes drifted to Hiyono's still form as she was lifted into the ambulance.

"I have a lot I need to talk with you about," Kiyotaka said. "But for tonight it would be best if we just go back to the hotel and get some sleep."

The blade children all agree and made their way to the taxi the elder Narumis had arrived in. Only Ayumu seemed to notice Amariko's murderous glare as she was pushed into the back seat of a police car to sit beside her silently crying brother.

"I don't get it," Ryouko said as the taxi drove them back to Kyoto City. "I thought that was Nisemono Mei, so why did Narumi-san call her Morishino Amariko?"

"Morishino Amariko was the step-daughter of Kanzaka Keishisei." Ayumu said. "She was in love with Kanzaka's son Keiichi who was five years older then her. When she found out that the two of them were going to be siblings she couldn't take the heartbreak and her mind snapped creating an alternate personality: Nisemono Mei. Mei would be Kei-sensei's sister leaving Amariko free to be his lover."

"So she's a wack-job?" Kousuke said. "It sure would have been nice to know that before she started shooting at us."

"She only shot at Narumi-san Kousuke," Ryouko said. "Now shut up. I want to hear the rest."

Ayumu rolled his eyes but still continued. "At least that's how it would have been if Kei-sensei actually had feelings for her. As it was he ran away from home when he found out what happened between them. Amariko used Mei to track him down since Mei didn't know that she was an alternate personality. Even now Mei probably still doesn't know."

"So what will happen to Morishino-san?" Rio said. "And what about David?"

"More then likely Morishino will be admitted to a hospital for treatment," Kiyotaka said. "As for Mr. Grisham, his father is wealthy enough that this incident will probably be brushed under the rug. He's a very important figure in the world and will someday inherate the Hanazakari group. His father can't afford to have this known publicly."

Madoka nodded. "I imagine that Hiyono-san will find herself being offered some very generous compensation for this incident."

No one else spoke for the rest of the ride as they all digested the information they had been given.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Eyes didn't seem to mind putting up the cash needed for the entire group to remain at the Hotel Granvia for the rest of the week though Kei politely declined the offer for Eyes to pay for his room, opting instead to pay for it himself. After two days in the hospital to make sure that there were no unforeseen complications, Hiyono was free to return to her friends and family.

Ayumu was a little curious about why his brother and sister-in-law left early every morning and didn't return until late in the evening but after thinking about it for a little while he quickly decided that he really didn't care. He was pretty sick of mysteries at the moment. Unfortunately he didn't manage to see much of Hiyono either as she and her father spent most of their time in Tokyo settling the custody issue that would allow her to live with him instead of under the guardianship of Kiyotaka.

The night before he was due to return to Osaka Ayumu found himself sitting at a corner table in Orbite, the hotel's main bar, nursing a mug of black coffee since he was to young to order much of anything else. Since he was facing the entrance it wasn't hard for him to spot the bright honey colored hair of Hiyono when she walked in, for once not sporting her signature braids. It was strange how he never realized just how long her hair was before.

She didn't seem to notice him since she went strait for the bar and ordered herself a mug of hot chocolate. The barkeeper gave her a strange look but Ayumu couldn't help but smirk; it was good to have her back. Maybe he could even get her to sing that weird song. It's been a while since he'd last heard it after all.

"Narumi-san."

Ayumu glanced up at Hiyono and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips when she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her free hand. When she didn't speak again he lifted his eyebrow in question and she flushed a little as she dropped her gaze to the small lamp in the middle of the table.

"Um, I notice you over here and I just thought that…you wouldn't mind some company?"

"This is different," Ayumu said as he pushed out a chair with his foot. "You've never asked for an invitation before. You've always just done whatever you wanted."

Hiyono glared lightly but wasn't able to stop the smile that spread across her lips as she slowly sat down, careful not to spill her drink.

"Well, I haven't ever really owed you my life before you know."

He waved his hand dismissively as he took another sip of his coffee. "It's no big deal. I would have done it for anyone."

"Really?"

Ayumu smirked. "Probably."

"Hmm."

Silence reigned over them for several tense minutes before Hiyono awkwardly cleared her throat.

"So, what are your plans? I guess you're going back to Osaka tomorrow with everyone else."

"Of course," Ayumu said. "Aren't you?"

"…Actually…my dad decided to get an apartment in Tokyo." Ayumu froze mid drink; his eyes boring into hers over the top of his coffee mug. Hiyono looked down at the table before continuing. "He said he wouldn't really feel safe going back to Okinawa since Amariko knows where he lives there and, well, he was offered a building where he could start his own practice. Apparently he interned there when he was in college and since the Doctor is getting older he wanted to pass the practice on to someone who is capable and willing."

"So you're moving to Tokyo." It wasn't a question but Hiyono still felt like she was being interrogated.

"There's a really good elevator school there," She defended. "Their journaling program is top of the line and if I can get in then I won't have to worry about college either since it's a strait shot from high school to college."

"I see," Ayumu said, slowly setting down his mug. "You're going to take everything we've done together, every thing **I've** done _for_ you, and throw it back in my face because you want to be a _journalist_?"

Hiyono set her face into a look of defiance but her lower lip trembled, ruining the effect. "I'll always be grateful for what you did for me but—."

"Grateful!" Ayumu said. "You'll always be grateful huh? Well that's all that matters I guess. I risk everything I have to rescue you just so that you can be grateful?"

"Don't do this to me Narumi-san!" Hiyono said, near tears. "Do you think that I want to leave? Do you think that it was easy for me to tell my father that there was nothing keeping me in Osaka?"

"So I'm nothing now am I?" Ayumu said, the two of them now standing almost toe to toe.

"Don't twist my words Ayumu! And what does it matter?" She couldn't stop her tears now as they poured down her cheeks like rain. "You never wanted me around anyway! I thought that you would be happy! After all it's my fault that you went through everything! It's my fault that you got shot; that you almost die—!"

Hiyono was abruptly cut off when Ayumu suddenly jerked her forward into a tight hug, his chin resting lightly on the top of her head.

"Don't." Ayumu said, his voice tight. "Don't do that to yourself. None of that was your fault. "It was all Morishino's fault. She is the cause of everything, not you. And don't blame yourself for me getting shot. I'd take a million bullets if it meant you were safe."

Hiyono's jerky sobs were muffled by Ayumu's shirt but somehow she managed to choke out a strangled 'why'.

Ayumu snorted. "Are you really that stupid girl?" He didn't wait for her to answer as he slowly pulled back and gently stroked away her tears with his thumb. "I love you, idiot. That's why."

"No you don't."

Ayumu blinked. That wasn't exactly the response he had been looking for.

"You can't," Hiyono said; her lip trembling again. "You can't love me because I don't want you to get hurt again."

"Hn. Sorry, I don't let people tell me what to do." Instead of letting her answer back this time Ayumu ducked his head and placed a gentle kiss against her lips. "Now, tell me what I want to hear you stupid girl."

Hiyono shivered at the feel of Ayumu's breath brushing against her lips and suddenly all of her doubts disappeared. The only thing that she could think of was how much she wanted to stay by this boy's side. This man's side. The words were out of her mouth before she could even think.

"I love you, Ayumu."

Ayumu smirked. "It's about time." He said, before he kissed her again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Three weeks later found Hiyono and her father in the apartment above Kei's new clinic. They were almost done but there were still some boxes piled around but the two of them didn't mind; they always enjoyed time to get to know one another. Hiyono laughed at a bad joke her father told as she ripped the tape off of another box to start emptying it.

After pulling off the blanket used for cushioning she noticed a large amount of pictures carefully stacked together. Hiyono paused in her unpacking as she lifted a picture of Shiori from the box. Slowly she stroked the glass along her face, as though doing so would coax the still figure from the frame. After several minutes of silence she looked up at Kei who was watching her silently from under the window.

"Hey dad?" Hiyono said as she showed him the picture. "What was mom like?"

Kei was a little surprised but he couldn't stop the smile of love and gratitude that tugged on his lips.

"She was a lot like you," Kei said. "Happy, beautiful, and smart."

Hiyono just smiled at his words as she set the picture up on the small shelf where it continued to watch over their small family for many years to come. She was about to start sorting through the other pictures when a knock sounded on their door. She looked up in surprise before glancing over at her father.

"Why don't you get it?" Kei said, fighting down a smile. "Those will still be here when you get back."

Hiyono just shrugged before she stood, brushing the wrinkles out of her skirt as she did so. Since they were just going through knickknacks now, Hiyono didn't have to worry about stepping on anything so she was able to make it to the door before the person on the other side got impatient enough to knock again. Pulling open the door Hiyono looked up at their guest with a smile.

"Hell…"

Ayumu smirked. "Do you always greet your guests with an invitation to Hell?"

"Narumi-san…" Hiyono said. "You…what are you doing here?"

Ayumu rolled his eyes. "Really Hiyono I'm pretty sure we're past formalities." She blushed at the reminder of their kiss but Ayumu just ignored her. "If you must know my brother didn't think that staying in Osaka would be in my best interest. Something about being unable to fit in with the others at school. Apparently they don't think flying around Japan on a quest to save your girlfriend from certain death is very common anymore."

"So…you're in Tokyo?"

"You really are stupid aren't you? I am standing in front of your door you know."

Hiyono scowled as she socked him in the arm. "You know what I meant."

"Yeah, yeah." Ayumu said as he gently rubbed his abused shoulder. "My brother, Madoka, and I just moved in last week. We're in the complex across the street. It's about time you got here. I was beginning to think that you weren't going to show up after all."

Hiyono just laughed as she fell into her boyfriend's all too willing arms.

The End

* * *

Kaliea: Whoot! I finished a story! It's about time too. Sorry the end is so anti-climactic. If it makes you feel better I was just going to end it with Hiyono moving to Tokyo and leaving Ayumu behind but since I have another story in mind where the two of them are going to Eitoku high (the school in Hana Yori Dango) I figured it would be good to show you all how and why they were there. Anyway, let me know what you all think!

* * *

Review Answers:

nequam-tenshi: Thanks, it was my first mystery so I tired really hard. I hope it turned out alright in the end.

grim reaper sakura: Sorry, I hope I didn't ruin your dreams to badly.

just another baka: Don't worry, I laugh at that sort of stuff all the time. It's just to funny to watch guys be over protective at really important times.

Emilinia-sama: Most of Ryouko and Kousuke's romantic things are expressed through violence. That's the way it always was in the show too. Well, jealousy too but not as much of that in this story. Maybe the next one.

Twilight1: Nope. Nobody died.

Animejunkie:I hope that I didn't leave you hanging for to long. Although now you'll have to wait to see what happens to them until I finally decide to write that other story. I love being evil.

jacksparrow589: I hope that I managed to portray everything right. It was surprisingly difficult to write this chapter.

AkifromHell66: Of course they're alright! A story wouldn't be much of a story without a happily ever after.

satomika: I hope this answers a few of your questions.

just another baka: Sorry, but as they say, all good things must come to an end.

* * *

Kaliea: thanks so much for all of your support. I couldn't have done this without you! Well, I guess I could have…but it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun! I hope to see you guys on my next story. Till then, ja ne!


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